A new engine for the Tupolev Tu-160M Blackjack swing-wing strategic bomber which marks a major development in Russia’s ongoing program to relaunch production of the Cold War-era missile-carrier. Since no photos of the re-engined bomber have so far been released, it’s not yet possible to determine the identity of the particular Blackjack, or whether all four of the turbofans are already installed.
The United Aircraft Corporation announced that the “deeply modernized” Tu-160M had performed its first flight with its new serial-production NK-32-02 engines at the Kazan Aircraft Production Association airfield in southwest Russia on November 3, 2020.
