Tag Archives: Russia
Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers set new WORLD RECORD for range & duration of non-stop flight
pair of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers have spent more than 25 hours in the air and covered over 20,000km, setting a new world record for non-stop flight range, and duration, for this type of aircraft, it has been revealed.
The Defense Ministry, in Moscow, made the announcement on Saturday with Sergey Kobylash, the commander of Russia’s long-range aviation service, saying that “nobody has flown this type of aircraft longer.”
The record, which was set on Saturday, saw two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers (NATO reporting name ‘Blackjack’) “staying in the air for more than 25 hours and covering a distance of over 20,000km (12,427 miles),” the commander added.
The landmark flight took place above the neutral waters of the Arctic and Pacific oceans as well as the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Barents seas, and was performed in full compliance with international rules governing use of airspace, he pointed out.
The Tu-160s refueled three times in the air during their mission, which required six Il-78 tanker planes to be mobilised. At some points along their route, the bombers were escorted by Russian Su-35 fighter jets as well as “aircraft of foreign states,” Kobylash said.
The previous record was also set by Tu-160s, which spent 24 hours and 24 minutes in the air back in 2010. In the case of passenger aircraft, a Qantas Airlines flight from New York to Sydney last year is considered to be the longest, as it saw a Boeing 787-9 with 49 people on board staying the air for 19 hours and 15 minutes, covering a distance of 16,200km (around 10,066 miles).
TU-160s Visit South Africa last October!
Last year October a pair of TU-160s traveled to South Africa landing at Air force Base Waterkloof, City of Tshwane. This was the first time this type of aircraft had landed on African soil for the first time.
Sukhoi SSJ100 Production Facility Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
On 1 February, SCAC Branch in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (KnAF) turned 15. During the official ceremony held to celebrate the anniversary, a jubilee SSJ100 was handed over to the Flight Test Centre. This aircraft starts the third hundred of jets produced by the company.
“We have put state-of-the-art technologies in Superjet 100, not only concerning aerodynamics, airframe design and systems structure, but also with regard to production. At present, SSJ100 aircraft are operated by airlines and various agencies within the Russian Federation and internationally. As of yet, Superjet 100 is the only brand-new Russian passenger jet produced domestically and certified in our country and abroad,” explained Ravil Khakimov, SCAC’s Director General.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade awarded two engineers and one technician of KnAF with Certificates of Appreciation.
As stated by Sergey Denisenko, Minister of Industry of the Khabarovsk Krai, “Komsomolsk-on-Amur Branch is Russia’s unique production facility. The principles of quick improvements are implied here. KnAF is one of the largest and the most advanced machine-building enterprises in the Khabarovsk Krai.”
“Nowadays one third of all globally-produced 100-seaters are manufactured in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. For our employees, we’ve made habitual a lot of best practices in the sphere of production – Kaizen culture, Kanban and QPDCA methodology, and the Gemba principle. We value commitment of each employee to his work,” said KnAF Director Andrey Soynov.
To date, the total flight time of SSJ100 fleet is more than 700 thousand hours. Superjets in operation have performed about 450 thousand take-offs and landings.
Russian Airforce Antonov A124 lands at JFK International Airport.
A Russian military plane carrying medical supplies arrived in the United States Wednesday last week, the Russian mission to the UN said, as the Kremlin flexes its soft power during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Antonov-124, landed at JFK Airport in New York — the epicenter of America’s coronavirus outbreak — pictures and video posted on the mission’s Twitter page showed.
Russia’s defense ministry had earlier announced that the plane “with medical masks and medical equipment on board,” left for the US overnight, without providing further details.
Video released by the ministry showed the cargo plane loaded with boxes preparing to take off from a military airbase near Moscow early Wednesday morning.
“We have to work together to defeat #COVID19. This is why the U.S. agreed to purchase urgently needed personal protective equipment from #Russia,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Wednesday evening.
The supplies, also including ventilators, were given to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in New York, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
Russia’s defense ministry refused to provide AFP with any further information on the delivery, which came after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with US counterpart Donald Trump on Monday.
Russia has previously sent medical supplies and experts to coronavirus-hit Italy as part of a humanitarian effort that analysts said carried geopolitical overtones.
Moscow said the aid for Italy included about 100 virus specialists with experience dealing with Ebola and swine fever, but Italian media have reported that much of the aid was not useful in the fight against the virus.
In March, Russia said it had sent nearly 1,000 coronavirus testing kits to ex-Soviet states and countries including Iran and North Korea.
The US now has more than 215,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, by far the highest of any country, according to a Johns Hopkins tally, and more than 5,100 deaths.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Putin expected the US to return the gesture if Russia faces a similar crisis and US producers have increased their capacity to produce medical supplies.
“Today, when the situation touches absolutely everyone and is of a global nature, there is no alternative to acting together in the spirit of partnership and mutual assistance,” he said.
Trump said earlier this week that “Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice.”
Health officials in Russia have registered a sharp increase in the number of infections, with 2,337 cases and 17 deaths confirmed, according to the latest figures last week Wednesday.
Do you want the Russians to return?
During the past week those in Gauteng were treated to some special visitors… the Russians, an African first for the landing of The Tupolev Tu-160 in Africa, and that in our very own South Africa.
The General that headed the team that visited South Africa mentioned the they might return soon during the farewell function held Friday evening.
One of the crew also dropped that they could be returning in 2020 during the time spend at O.R Tambo international Airport.
2020 We see the next Addition of Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD2020) and also be celebrating SAAF100. Just maybe they will return!
Loading ...Below is and video of the Tupolev Tu-160’s departing ORTIA in the early hours of Sunday morning.
TU-160 Strategic Bombers Land at AFB Waterkloof
A pair of TU-150 Blackjack variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bombers landed at Airforce Base Waterkloof yesterday afternoon after a 13 hour flight from Engels Air Force Base which is strategic bomber military airbase in Russia located 14 kilometres east of Saratov.
The aircraft were originally scheduled to arrive in South Africa on 22 October but were delayed by 24 hours due to technical issues. The aircraft finally departed for a 11 000 kilometres non-stop to journey to South Africa.
The aircraft routed down the East coast of Africa, with the help of some Aerial Refueling from a Russian Airforce IL78 Tanker over the Caspian Sea. The historical visit if the bombers landing at Waterkloof South Africa is part of developing bilateral military cooperation and work out issues of interaction between the Russian Aerospace Forces and the South African Airforce.
The Bombers were escorted from Durban with 3 Hawk Mk120s from 85 Combat Flying School while two 2 Squadron Gripens conducted a Combat Air patrol during the flight into Airforce Base Waterkloof.
The SAAF’s deputy chief, Major General Innocent Buthelezi, said on Wednesday it was a privilege to host the Russian aircraft especially as it was the first time such bombers have landed in Africa. He said the visit was part of military-to-military cooperation between Russia and South Africa and looked forward to strengthening relations between the two defence forces.
Siphiwe Dlamini, Department of Defence head of communications, said the Russian visit had been planned long ago and is part of the bilateral defence ties between South Africa and the Russian Federation. He added that South Africa has had exercises with the Russian Navy and competed in Russia’s Army Games, whilst South Africa has military personnel training in Russia. In late November, Russia, China and South Africa will take part in a joint naval exercise in South Africa. Dlamini said the Russian Air Force visit has been in the making for the last five to eight years.
The aircraft are due to depart back to Russia on Monday 28th October 2019.Please feel free to keep an eye out on our Facebook page for updates of the aircrafts movements.
Click to enlarge photos
