Putin boards Tu-160M strategic aircraft for 40-minute flight

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at the runway of the Kazan Gorbunov Aviation Plant in Tatarstan to take a flight on board the Tu-160M strategic missile carrier.

The flight is said to last for about 40 mintes, but its route is kept classified as a military secret.

A day earlier, on February 21, Putin took the helm of a Tu-160M when visiting the Kazan Aviation Plant. The head of state spent about 10 minutes in the cockpit of the missile carrier. When Putin learned that the aircraft did not have a name, he proposed naming the plane in honour of the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev.

Tu-160M aircraft is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Such aircraft are part of Russia's nuclear triad. This is the largest and most powerful supersonic aircraft with variable wing geometry in the history of military aviation.

In 2000, the Russian leader — while serving as acting president — flew a Su-27 fighter jet to Grozny, Chechnya.