The Tu-160 (NATO code name “Blackjack”) is Russia’s biggest and most powerful bomber, as well as the most expensive. A sort of supersized American B-1 Lancer (the resemblance may have been more than coincidental), the Blackjack had a troubled history. Like the B-1, it was a supersonic, swing-wing, late Cold War design that entered service in 1987, where it reportedly suffered from teething problems. No more than a couple of dozen were built, and many ended up in Ukrainian hands after the breakup of the Soviet Union (Ukraine returned some to Russia, and scrapped the others). Russia now operates just 16 Blackjacks, though in 2015, the government announced that Tu-160 production would be restarted.

The latest version is designated the Tu-160M2, which apparently comprises both new aircraft coming off the production line as well as older aircraft upgraded to the M2 standard. In March 2018, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov described the M2 as virtually a new aircraft compared to the original.

Ag1 Parachute
AG2 Flares
Ag3 Folds Wing
It looks terrible, but this one flew
fast.