I. Metshin on the contract for the delivery of Tu-160M: “This is not an economic issue but a state one”

(KZN.RU, January 29, Ekaterina Vislavskaya). The most significant result for Kazan of the visit of Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, to Tatarstan was the signing of a contract for the delivery of Tu-160M aircraft, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, on the Business Monday. The head of the city noted that this contract opens great prospects for Kazan youth, workers of the plant, and the whole city. “This is an opportunity to look bravely into the future for us together with the team of our aircraft builders”.

During a two-day visit, Vladimir Putin visited the Kazan Aircraft Plant named after S. Gorbunov, a branch of the PAO Tupolev where a demonstration flight of a modernized strategic missile carrier Tu-160M took place. On the same day, the contract was signed for the supply of 10 aircrafts for the needs of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which will ensure the full loading of the plant until 2027.

“The biggest gift for us, of course, is the signing of a contract for the construction of 10 Tu-160M aircrafts. This is not an economic issue but a state one”, I. Metshin marked and cited the words of Mintimer Shaimiev, the first President of the RT, “If we want to be a state we must fly on our aircrafts”.

The Mayor noted that the program for Vladimir Putin's visit for 2 days was very busy. The President of the RF visited the Student Clubs Forum “Vmeste Vpered!”, the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of the Kazan Federal University, held a working meeting with Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, the Mufties of the Centralized Religious Organizations of Muslims of Russia, the leaders of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy, the members of the KAMAZ-master , launched two new installations at TANECO in video conference, and visited M. Shaimiev in the hospital.

For reference

Tu-160M is the largest aircraft with a variable sweep wing, one of the most powerful in the world of military vehicles. The decision to restart its production was made in 2015, while work on the previous version of the missile carrier was discontinued in 1993. The new aircraft was transferred from the final assembly shop to the flight-testing station of the plant in November 2017.