TU160M White Swan flies
 

Strategic missile TU160M ‚White Swan‘ flies



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Only a mere 40 years (give or take a few weeks) since the first one flew. Fair play to them for keeping the plans and manufacturing jigs though.

30 minutes at an altitude of 600 meters. Any test pilots around to enlighten the reasoning why so low?

VFR?

.......

They should restart An-124 production instead. What is a non stealthy cold war strategic bomber good for these days?
A B-Oneski.

Maybe they've run out of 'Bears', and need an extra '160 to patrol the North Sea and provide our Typhoons with some practice.

Given their range and cruise speed keeping the Bears might be better. Like the B-52.

I wonder how many western supersonic bombers have conducted a maiden flight from an (apparently) ice-packed runway in falling snow.

As others have said , it is the maiden flight of this particular air frame ,not the type. The type joined operationally in 1987. Even the Ukrainians had a few m but they sold some back to russia, and scrapped the rest under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program

Why do the FF in primer; did they need to fly it quickly before it was painted?

Typhoons couldn't keep up with them.

One of the most magnificent aircraft every launched, unfortunately obsolete by the time they entered service in a tier 1 conflict.

Is it not one of the old unfinished airframes being upgraded and competed rather than a new build

not really a triggers broom scenario

Lump of "junk" (or Skid) under the nosewheel??? (Pic 2)

Perhaps a misuse of "maiden", but by all accounts the first flight of this airframe in conditions where my previous company's King Airs would have been tucked up in a cosy hangar until spring.

Incidentally, ornithologists would refer to the paint scheme as its juvenile plumage.

I'm sure their Meteors could though...

well observed, interesting...
though still a bit puzzled with the low altitude as I'd imagine some altitude would be nice to have on a test flight in case of any kind of MCASinski or similar. I can imagine this skid being a speed restriction.

Nosewhells have a `spray deflector` fitted....

The spray deflector is part of the nose gear, nothing special there. I suspect that this was mainly a 'confidence boosting' short flight (in VFR conditions) just to confirm that: Yes, it does fly and Yes, we do still have a capability to produce these aircraft. Do not discount a political angle that would prefer to see any flight, even if there was no real operational or technical need yet. I can imagine how Comrade Putin will thump his chest on national television about this.

Taking out carriers with cruise missiles?

You'll have WEBF on your case with comments like that comrade