Putin flies on modernized Russian supersonic strategic bomber - UPDATED

The flight of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the modernized strategic missile carrier Tu-160M has ended, a source in the Kremlin said, Report informs.

The flight lasted 30 minutes.

16:52

Russian President Vladimir Putin will fly on a modernized Tu-160M supersonic strategic bomber on Thursday, the Kremlin said, Report informs via Al Arabiya.

The giant swing-wing plane is a substantially modernized version of a Soviet-era bomber that the USSR would have deployed in the event of a nuclear war with the West to deliver nuclear weapons at long distances.

The TU-160M is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles and can fly 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) nonstop without refueling.