Russian President Vladimir Putin will fly on a modernized Tu-160M supersonic strategic bomber on Thursday, the Kremlin said, state television reported.
The giant swing-wing plane is a substantially modernized-version of a Soviet-era bomber that the USSR would have deployed in the event of a nuclear war with the West to deliver nuclear weapons at long distances.
The TU-160M is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles and can fly 12,000 km (7,500 miles) non—stop without re-fueling.