Swans of the Apocalypse

🔹Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kazan Aviation Plant named after S. P. Gorbunov, a branch of PJSC Tupolev, during his visit to the capital of Tatarstan. During the inspection of the new aircraft, the head of State suggested naming one of the Tu-160M missile carriers in honor of the first President of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev.

“We are in Tatarstan. Let’s call the new missile carrier Mintimer Shaimiev, ” Putin said, addressing RT President Rustam Minnikhanov. The Tatarstan leader enthusiastically accepted the proposal of the Russian President: “Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich. He deserved it.”

The Head of State was accompanied by Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, Sergey Shoigu, Minister of Defense of Russia, Igor Komarov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District, Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais of Tatarstan, Yuri Slyusar, General Director of United Aircraft Corporation, and Nikolay Savitskikh, Director of KAZ.

The Russian leader was shown the aircraft that are being built and upgraded at the enterprise. These are Tu-22M3M strategic bombers, Tu-160M (M2) strategic bombers, and Tu-214 medium-haul narrow-body passenger airliners (as well as special versions of this model).

Kazan Aviation Plant is at a new stage of development, it is stably provided with loading capacity for the future until 2030. The most important stage of a large-scale program of modernization and technical re-equipment of production has already been implemented, which is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and in close cooperation with institutes and enterprises of the construction complex of Tatarstan. This made it possible to restore a unique technological cycle on a modern production base, purchase new equipment, and build a new flight test base.

In addition, the unique technology of production of titanium aggregates, which is used in the manufacture of the rotary wing mechanism and welding of the Tu-160M center section beam, has been restored. A deep modernization of the electron beam welding unit and vacuum furnace for titanium products was carried out. The largest complex for processing titanium products in the world has been recreated.

All this has become a reliable base for launching mass production of new deeply modernized strategic bombers-Tu-160M missile carriers, the company notes.

🔹Four deeply modernized, handsome Tu-160Ms in the final assembly shop of the Kazan Aviation Plant during Vladimir Putin’s visit to the enterprise.

The resumption of serial production of missile carriers started in December 2018, and already on January 12, 2022, the newly produced Tu-160M made its first flight.

An earlier trip abroad the White Swan:

🔹🇷🇺 Footage from Kazan before President Vladimir Putin’s flight on the Tu-160M. The motorcade of the head of state drove straight up to the missile carrier. |video| [see following video too] 

The Tu-160M, known as “White Swans” are one of largest and most graceful warplanes on earth, a supersonic strategic bomber of the nuclear triad of the Russian Armed Forces. Putin wasn’t taking a joyride. This was another vivid reminder to the combined West. A message onboard “the Swan of the Apocalypse,” to the possessed supremacist — and dead-on-arrival — Old Order.