The production of the Tu-160 "White Swan" strategic bomber was planned to be launched in Ulyanovsk, but was eventually moved to Kazan. The reason for the relocation was revealed by Stanislav Ryzhakov, the former director of the Ulyanovsk branch of Tupolev.
He recalled that the Ulyanovsk Aviation Complex was created with the expectation of large-scale production of several types of aircraft at once. In addition to the Tu-160, the enterprise was supposed to build heavy transport An-124 "Ruslan".
But by 1987, the plant was not yet ready for the "seventy", and the project was finally moved to Kazan, while Ulyanovsk was given the command to urgently master a new passenger aircraft.
Therefore, instead of the Tu-160, the main new project for the enterprise in Ulyanovsk became the passenger Tu-204.
Chinese media admired the fact that Russia resumed production of Tu-160 "White Swan" bombers, which was considered impossible in the West.
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