 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Putin Takes Supersonic Flight In Long-Range Bomber Plane
Moscow (AFP) Aug 16, 2005 President Vladimir Putin took off from Moscow for a supersonic flight in a cruise-missile carrying Tupolev-160 bomber jet Tuesday, the latest in the Russian leader's action-packed public appearances. State television showed Putin rolling up his shirt sleeves for a medical check, before donning a flight suit and helmet and taking the commander's position in the giant strategic bomber, known in NATO code as "Blackjack." With Major General Anatoly Zhikharev at the controls and a colonel and a lieutenant colonel in charge of navigation, the Tu-160 flew east from Moscow's Chkalovsky military airport toward the region of Nizhny Novgorod, Interfax news agency reported. The Tu-160 was due to break the sound barrier before slowing to make a test firing of cruise missiles over a range, refuelling in mid-air and turning back. Before landing, Putin was to experience a final thrill of flying at the aircraft's lowest allowed height of 200 metres (656 feet) at a blistering 900 kilometres (560 miles) an hour, Interfax said. A second Tu-160, piloted by a lieutenant general, was accompanying the president's plane. Putin, who was earlier attending the MAKS 2005 aerospace fair at Moscow's Zhukovsky aerodrome, has made strengthening the country's troubled armed forces a keystone of his two terms in office. He is well known for his morale-boosting appearances in military roles. In 2000, while still acting president, Putin landed a Su-27 fighter in Chechnya, where Russian forces were mounting a fierce bombing and shelling campaign against the rebel-held capital city Grozny. In 2000 and 2004, Putin also took trips on navy submarines. The Tu-160 is the last strategic bomber of Soviet design and the heaviest, most powerful bomber ever built. It can fly at 2,220 kilometres (1,380 miles) an hour, or Mach 2.025, and fly 12,300 kilometres (7,643 miles) without refuelling. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
Masten Space Systems Announces X Prize Cup Sponsorship
Santa Clara CA (SPX) Aug 30, 2005Masten Space Systems has announced that it has become an Official Partner of the 2005 Countdown to the X Prize Cup, which will be held in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from October 6th through the 9th. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
