Putin Plans to Fly on Strategic Bomber

State television reported today, Thursday, that "Russian President Vladimir Putin will fly aboard a Tu-160M strategic supersonic bomber." The giant swing-wing bomber is a significantly updated version of the Soviet-era bomber, which the Soviet Union intended to use in the event of a nuclear war with the West to deliver nuclear weapons over long distances. The Tu-160M can carry 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles and can fly for 12,000 kilometers without stopping and without refueling.