Russian President Vladimir Putin is the co-pilot of the world’s largest strategic bomber TU-160 capable of transporting up to 40 tons of bombs on board within a range of up to 10,500 kilometers, including up to 12 nuclear warheads with tactical or strategic missiles. The year 2005.
The Tupolev Tu-160 or White Swan of Blackjack is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.
It has four Kuznetsov NK-32 afterburning turbofan engines. The Tu-160 is a variable-geometry wing aircraft.
The aircraft employs a fly-by-wire control system with a blended wing profile, and full-span slats are used on the leading edges, with double-slotted flaps on the trailing edges
The Tu-160 is equipped with a probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling system for extended-range missions, although it is rarely used.
Tu-160’s internal fuel capacity of 130 tons gives the aircraft a roughly 15-hour flight endurance at a cruise speed of around 850 km/h (530 mph), Mach 0.77, at 9,100 m (30,000 ft)
Weapons are carried in two internal bays, each capable of holding 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) of free-fall weapons or a rotary launcher for nuclear missiles; additional missiles may also be carried externally. The aircraft’s total weapons load capacity is 40,000 kg (88,000 lb)
