Modernised Tu-22M3M Capable of Carrying Mach 10 Kinzhal Missile

Russia’s modernized Tu-22M3, known as Tu-22M3M is capable of carrying missile weaponry including the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missile that can reach a speed of 10 Mach.

The modernized plane received new targeting equipment, engine and avionics. It can carry and fire home-grown missiles such as the Kh-32 cruise missiles and Kh-47M2 ballistic missiles, Sputnik reported last Saturday.

The Tu-22M3M underwent tests for its upgraded systems on Friday, 28 December 2018. Russian TV channel Zvezda published a video of the maiden flight of the modified Tupolev aircraft that lasted 37 minutes at an altitude of about 1500-meter, the report stated.

The aircraft presented in 2018 by Vladimir Putin, can achieve Mach 10 speed within the first seconds of its flight and perform evasive manoeuvres to outsmart enemy air defence systems.

Correction: The report earlier published on December 31, 2018, wrongly mention the speed of Tu-22M3M as 10 Mach. It the Kinzhal ballistic missile, Kh-47M2 that can reach a speed of 10 Mach and not the modernized bomber. The bomber however can speed up to 1.8 Mach. The article has been corrected on 4 Jaunary 2019.