On April, 29th the new Тu-160 have been delivered to 121-st Guards Aviation Sevastopol Red Flag heavy bomber regiment. The bomber with onboard number «08» has received own name «Vitaly Kopylov». This Тu-160 became 16-th strategic bomber of the given type in the Russian Long-Range Aviation.

     On April, 29th on flight-testing airbase of the S.P.Gorbunov named Kazan aviation production association (Open Joint Stock Company KAPO) in solemn conditions heavy bomber regiment to Anatoly Serebryakov has been given to the commander of 121-st regiment a symbolical key from the new aircraft. As transferred in the Russian mass-media, at 14:00 the supersonic strategic missile-carrier has flied up from factory air station and at 15:00 has arrived on a place of a constant disposition - on an air base Engels in the Saratov region. By the videostaff of NTV (third Russian TV channel), the avionics of the new plane has not undergone essential changes: absolutely same heap of electro-mechanical devices in a cabin of pilots, as at bombers of times of the 2WW. Simply speaking, a disgrace. As though in Russia time has stopped …

     This «absolutely new missile-carrier», under the most optimistic plans of then Minister of Defence Sergey Ivanov, should transfer long-range bomber aircraft in the end of the 2006 year (see ). By the information «Ъ» referring to КАPО, 32-nd Kazan's aircraft (i.e. not including three skilled, constructed on ОКB experimental plant in Moscow) will be last in a series of Тu-160 superconic bombers. As it became known, this plane has been collected from last Soviet stocks and where two gliders have disappeared, still remained from the Soviet times - it is not known. «Vitaly Kopylov» became last strategic bomber of this type. New bombers of following generation will appear it is not known when. In such cases Russian speak - when black a raven becomes white.

This Tu-160 - «the last of the mohicans» - has received the name in honour of tragically death Vitaly Kopylov. It was shot in a study, protesting against the termination of built of bombers in 90th years. Though laughing at memory of director, last Tu-160 have named his name.

We shall remind, that after Vitaly Kopylov's death two Tu-160 have been built (are transferred in 1997 and 2000), one Tu-160 has been modernized in 2000-06. 

 Andrian NIKOLAEV,

 May, 1, 2008.

Photo - Lenta.Ru.