Two Russian Tu-160 strategic missile-carrying bombers performed a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea and were escorted by fighter aircrafts of Italy, Denmark and Sweden at some sections of their flight, Russia's Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
Two Tu-160 bombers of Russia's long-range aviation performed a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea that lasted about eight hours, the ministry said in a statement.
"The crews of Su-35S aircraft of the Aerospace Force and Su-27 planes of the Baltic Fleet's naval aviation provided fighter support. At some stages of their route, the Russian strategic missile-carrying bombers were escorted by F-35 fighters of the Italian Air Force, F-16 fighters of the Danish Air Force and Saab JAS 35 Gripen fighters of the Swedish Air Force," the statement says.
The crews of Russian long-range aircraft regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas and the Pacific Ocean, Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber (Nato reporting name of Blackjack) is a variable-sweep wing supersonic strategic missile carrier manufactured by the Tupolev aircraft research and engineering complex joint stock company of Moscow and the Kazan-Gorbunov Aircraft Production Association in Tatarstan from 1980 to 1992.
The maiden flight of the bomber was completed in December 1981 and it entered service with Ukrainian Long-Range Aviation in April 1987. Production has since restarted and a Tu-160 was delivered to the Russian Air Force in May 2000. A total of 36 aircraft were built, with only 16 currently in service in Russia.
The aircraft of Russia's Aerospace Force perform all their flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace, the ministry stressed.
Tu-160 was designated as White Swan due to its manoeuvrability and anti-flash white finish. The purpose of the aircraft is the delivery of nuclear and conventional weapons deep in continental theatres of operation.
The aircraft has all-weather, day-and-night capability and can operate at all geographical latitudes. The performance of the Russian Tu-160 is often compared with the US B-1B.
