Russian air force takes first modernised TU-160 and TU-95

Russia’s air force has today received the first examples of a number of modernised strategic bombers – a Tu-160M and Tu-95MSs - following upgrade work performed by manufacturer Tupolev.
Enhancement activity on the supersonic Tu-160 includes “partial replacement” of the aircraft’s avionics and weapons systems. First flight of the initial example took place on 16 November.
A second phase of modernisation will begin in 2016 with the addition of uprated Kuznetsov NK-32 engines.
Russian Air Force has an active inventory of 13 of the long-range bombers.
A further delivery will take place before year-end, says Tupolev, with an additional 20 aircraft to be modernised in the 2015-16 timeframe.
flightglobal