This footage shows Vladimir Putin’s recently updated supersonic bomber which has the Guinness World Record for being the largest and heaviest Mach 2+ supersonic military aircraft ever built.
The video published by the Russian Ministry of Defence shows the test flight of the supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber Tupolev Tu-160M, which according to Guinness World Records is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft, the fastest bomber now in use and the largest and heaviest variable-sweep wing plane ever flown.
The Tupolev Tu-160M – which has the NATO codename “Blackjack” and which is nicknamed the “White Swan” in Russia – can carry a payload of weaponry totalling a staggering 40,000 kilogrammes (88,000 lbs).
Local media report that the first test flight since the bomber has been upgraded took place at the Kazan Aircraft Production Association in the city of Kazan in south-western Russia.
Reports say that the upgrade has increased the overall efficiency of the bomber by installing a new flight and navigation equipment, a state-of-the-art on-board communications complex, a new control system, as well as a brand-new electronic countermeasure complex.
In addition to that, the new turbofan Kuznetsov NK-32 jet engine has increased the distance the bomber can cover to 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).
The test flight lasted 34 minutes and the supersonic bomber was flying at a height of 1,500 metres (4,921 feet)
The first flight of the Tu-160M rocket carrier 
The first flight of the Tu-160M rocket carrier
Representatives of the Ministry of Defence said: “The first flight included the necessary checks of the updated system.”
The new jet will be put into mass use by the Russian Air Force by 2021.
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Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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