Media: an engineer from a secret Russian aircraft factory has asked for asylum in the United States

At the end of December 2022, a Russian citizen with his family drove up to one of the border points in the southwestern United States from Mexico, and stated that he worked from 2018 to 2021 as an engineer at the aviation plant named after him. Tupolev for the production of Tu-160 White Swan bombers in Kazan. He asked for American asylum, instead offering to reveal some of Russia's most closely guarded military secrets, Yahoo News reported, citing a report by the US Customs and Border Protection Service. In addition, he told officials that he was fleeing persecution because he took part in anti-Kremlin protests.

The publication also reports that the Department of Homeland Security and the US Border Control Service checked the identity of the man for about a week and a half, and eventually recognized him as trustworthy and of potential interest to the United States.

"The Tu-160 White Swan, known in NATO as Blackjack, is the most advanced strategic bomber in Russia's arsenal, and was used for airstrikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. According to reports from open sources, over the past few years, a major new program for the construction of an improved version of the aircraft has begun at the Tupolev plant, as well as a program for the modernization of existing aircraft," the open sources quoted by the publications say.

In his comment to Yahoo News, a senior US military intelligence official said that data on the Tu-160, primarily on its possible modifications, could become valuable information for Washington. At the same time, he noted that today American missile defense systems do not have the ability to shoot down hypersonic missiles, which are apparently equipped with Russian bombers.

Another US military official clarified: "Yes, we know this Russian plane well, but there are things that we would be interested to hear about, if, of course, this guy can be trusted. The main thing for us is to find out if the Russians have upgraded this bomber to launch hypersonic missiles?"