NATO and Kyiv recognize the strategic importance of Russia’s Tu-160M bomber in the Ukraine conflict, according to Brandon Weichert, a columnist for the US outlet 19FortyFive.

In his assessment, Ukraine and its NATO partners view the Tu-160M as one of the key elements enabling Russia to conduct warfare. He argues that the use of such aircraft allows the Russian military to successfully carry out combat missions, including operations linked to overcoming Ukraine’s air defense.

Weichert adds that this serves as another example of how well, in his view, Russia has adapted to the demands of the modern battlefield.

Earlier, The National Interest wrote that the AFU have virtually no effective means to counter the Russian supersonic Tu-160M bomber. The report also stated that Russia’s defense-industrial complex, unlike the production capacity of NATO countries, is able to pursue aircraft modernization that could provide new strategic advantages.

The Tu-160 is a strategic bomber-missile carrier with variable-sweep wings and is the main aircraft of Russia’s long-range aviation. It is designed to strike the most important targets in distant military-geographical areas using both nuclear and conventional weapons. The program to restart production and deploy the modernized Tu-160M version was launched by decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin.