Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack - Russian White Swan - Nuclear bomber

The Tupolev Tu-160 (Russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, romanized: Belyj Lebeď, lit. ’White Swan’; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It is the largest and heaviest Mach 2 supersonic military aircraft ever built and second to the experimental XB-70 Valkyrie in overall length. As of 2021, it is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft, the fastest bomber in use and the largest and heaviest variable-sweep wing airplane ever flown. Entering service in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Union. As of 2016, the Russian Air Force’s Long Range Aviation branch still had 16 aircraft in service. The Tu-160 active fleet has been undergoing upgrades to electronics systems since the early 2000s. The Tu-160M modernization program of existing models has begun with the first updated aircraft delivered in December 2014. On 12 Januar