Russia to Receive Two Tu-160M Missile Carriers After Years of Delay

The Russian Aerospace Forces are set to receive two modernized Tu-160M strategic missile carriers by the end of 2025, following years of delays.

TASS reported the announcement, citing Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov’s remarks at the final board meeting of the ministry.

Belousov did not specify whether the aircraft are newly built or refurbished Tu-160s returned to service after modernization.

A contract for ten Tu-160M aircraft, valued at 160 billion rubles, was signed on January 25, 2018. Initial plans called for a total order of 50 aircraft.

Deliveries of the modernized bombers have been repeatedly postponed. In January 2019, then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the first modernized Tu-160M would enter service in 2021. At the time, all 16 Tu-160 strategic missile carriers in Russia’s inventory were scheduled for deep modernization.

The first newly built Tu-160M2 made its maiden flight in Kazan on January 12, 2022, marking the first new Tu-160 produced since the 1990s. In December 2022, the second Tu-160M2 was delivered to the test station.

In 2023, four Tu-160M aircraft were expected to be delivered: two modernized Tu-160Ms and two newly built Tu-160M2s. The deadline was later pushed to 2024. In December 2024, Belousov said all four aircraft would now be delivered in 2025.