80 Percent of the Tu-160M’s Systems and Equipment Have Been Modernized

Although the Tu-160M strategic bomber produced by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) retains the legendary external appearance of its predecessor, it has been developed on an entirely new technological platform.

According to Poligonjournal, this was announced by Yuri Abrasimov, CEO of Tupolev, a company within UAC.

He stated that most of the aircraft’s systems, including its onboard radio-electronic equipment, navigation systems and engines, had been modernized.

“Externally, the Tu-160M retains its familiar silhouette, but internally, it has been built on an entirely new technological platform, making extensive use of digital technologies. Eighty percent of its systems and equipment have been modernized,” Abrasimov emphasized.

According to the CEO, engineers have also incorporated provisions for the aircraft’s future development. In particular, the architecture of its onboard equipment is based on a modular design. This will make it possible to replace obsolete systems with more advanced ones and integrate new equipment into the aircraft without having to rebuild the entire aviation complex.

Abrasimov noted that this approach would enable the aircraft to adapt continuously to changing requirements and expand the range of missions it can perform.