The Tupolev Tu-160M2 strategic bomber prototype will take to the skies for the first time from the airfield of the Kazan Aviation Enterprise in February 2018, TASS reported on Thursday. A source in the Russian defence industry told TASS, “The plane with the factory number 804 based on Soviet aircraft breakthroughs will be rolled out of the final assembly workshop of the Kazan Aviation Enterprise and delivered to the flight testing station in November this year. The plane is expected to perform its debut flight from the enterprise’s aerodrome in February next year.”

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the serial production of Tu-160M2 bombers should begin in 2023.