Russia has unveiled its new generation of pinpoint accurate supersonic strike bombers, ready for test flights later this month.
The Tu-22M3M is a 'deep moderisation' of the Tu-22M3 which Russia's air force has about 100 in service and used extensively in missions over Syria in support of the Assad regime.
The new planes can be navigated up to eight times better than the previous generation and target their improved missiles up to 10 times more accurately.
The Tupolev Tu-22M3M long-range jet was rolled out at a ceremony yesterday in the central-Russian city of Kazan
Crucially they will also be able to carry Kh-32 air-to-surface cruise missiles, which have a range of up to 370 miles flying up to 25 miles above the ground at Mach 5 - five times the speed of sound at 3,100mph.
These missiles are an upgrade of the Kh-22 which were designed to destroy U.S. aircraft carriers during the Cold War but also work well against ground targets. They can be armed with nuclear warheads.
Even bigger Kh-50 missiles will also be fitted to the new jets, which can carry six more than the Tu-22M3, that fly at almost 600mph and weigh a massive 1,600kg.
Russia claims the jets are the first to have artificial intelligence built in to their systems, though it was not clear if that included control of its weapons, which is highly controversial.
'The capabilities of this aircraft are impressive and considerably surpass all similar foreign rivals. This plane has artificial intelligence,' Russia's long-range aviation commander Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash said.
Russia opposes a blanket ban on weapons using AI, a proposal which is supported by 26 other countries, saying such systems did not yet exist.
The first of the new jets are in final assembly at a plant in Kazan, about 500 miles east of Moscow, a city known much better to the Western public as a venue for several World Cup matches last month.
Kazan's Gorbunov Aviation Plant, run by Tupolev which designs and manufactures the planes, opened in 1927 and built many of the most famous Soviet warplanes and civilian aircraft.
In addition to deadlier bombs, they will feature a new SVP-24-22 radio-electronic system, a NV-45 radar, the cockpit's improved ergonomics, new onboard systems and an extended service life of 35 years.
The major upgrade for the Tu-22M3 was a long time coming as they first came into service in 1972 and saw action in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and more recently in Syria and Iraq.
'The Tu-22M3 long-range bombers proved highly efficient in Syria,' Viktor Bondarev, the head of the Russian upper house's Defence and Security Committee and former commander in chief of Russian Aerospace Forces, said.
'This bomber, alongside Tu-160 and Tu-95, ensures the superiority of Russian strategic long-range aviation.'
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