Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced the time frame for the presentation of their next-generation strategic bomber, known as the PAK DA.
“There is a high probability that we will see it in 2018,” Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov told journalists during a visit to defense enterprises in Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday.
Borisov claimed that the PAK DA’s characteristics were far beyond any existing long-range aviation airplane.
The PAK DA project was initiated in March 2013 by an agreement between the Defense Ministry and the manufacturer Tupolov. The advanced bomber is intended to replace Russia’s Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers.
Russian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev previously told the press that the new bomber would be subsonic and carry a larger payload than the Tu-160.
The bomber is expected to enter service around 2025 at the earliest.
