 The Tu-95V had all connectors in its automatic release mechanism replaced, the bomb bay doors removed and the aircraft itself covered with a special reflective white paint.Khrushchev himself announced the upcoming tests of the Tsar Bomba in his report at the 22nd Congress of the CPSU on 17 October 1961.The Tsar Bomba was tested on 30 October 1961, flown to its test site by Major Andrei Durnovtsev.