Putin sends signal with flight on nuclear-capable bomber.
Russian President Vladimir Putin flew on a modernised Tu-160M nuclear-capable strategic bomber on Thursday, in a move likely to be seen in the West as a pointed reminder of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities.
The giant swing-wing plane, codenamed “Blackjacks” by military alliance NATO, is a modernised version of a Cold War-era bomber that the former Soviet Union would have deployed in the event of nuclear war to deliver weapons at long distances.
The flight with Putin on board took place in Tatarstan. Russian media released a video of the aircraft’s takeoff and flight. The flight lasted 30 minutes before landing on the strip of the Kazan Aircraft Production Association named after Sergei Gorbunov.