On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin took a flight on a modernized Tu-160M strategic bomber, which is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. This move is expected to be interpreted in the West as a sharp reminder of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities.
The massive swing-wing aircraft, known by the military alliance NATO as “Blackjacks,” is a modernized version of a bomber from the Cold War that the former Soviet Union would have used to transport weapons over great distances in the event of a nuclear war.
During the flight, Putin was seen on State TV clambering down a ladder from the aircraft and assuring reporters that it was a dependable, contemporary aircraft that the Russian Air Force could accept.
“It’s a new machine with many new features. It’s simpler to manage. It is trustworthy, “said Putin.
The Russian president took the flight at a time when Moscow and the West are at odds over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in prison. The president of Russia is anticipated to easily win another six-year term next month.
Even during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, some Russian and American diplomats said they cannot recall a period when ties between the two largest nuclear powers in the world were worse.
The enormous aircraft, known as “White Swans” in Russia, was seen taking off and landing on a runway owned by the Kazan factory that produces upgraded supersonic aircraft. Correspondent Pavel Zarubin enthusiastically described the sight as “a rare occurrence.”
The plane’s flight route was a military secret, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Putin was on the flight for thirty minutes, according to Russian news media.
The Tu-160M, with a crew of four, can fly 12,000 km (7,500 miles) nonstop without refueling and can carry twelve cruise missiles or twelve short-range nuclear missiles.
The circumstances under which a Russian president would consider using a nuclear weapon are outlined in the country’s nuclear doctrine. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, an attack utilizing nuclear or other WMDs or the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”
Since Moscow dispatched tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022, former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has issued numerous warnings about the possibility of a nuclear exchange with the West.
Putin, the head of Russia’s armed forces, asserted in October that “no person of sound mind and clear memory would dream of using nuclear weapons against Russia” and that the Russian state was not in danger.
Putin, 71, participated in a training exercise in 2005 while piloting an earlier Tu-160 aircraft.
A 2018 contract calls for the delivery of ten upgraded Tu-160M nuclear bombers to the Russian Air Force by 2027 at a cost of 15 billion ro.ubles each.
(Reuters)
