The country will bring back to life the Soviet Tupolev Tu-160 bombers. Russia aims to build 10 new Tu-160s by 2027 with the cost per unit estimated to be almost 1.5 billion dollars.
The newer Tu-160s may not be identical to the older Tu-160s, but, surely, they will be similar in many ways. So, let's have a look at the long-range strategic bombers of the Soviet era.
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Specifications
The Tu-160 (West countries call it Blackjack) is the biggest operational bomber in the world. The pilots have been named in “White Swan”. The aircraft is the heavier military aircraft that has ever been built. Tu-160s have reduced radar cross-section, although they are not considered stealth aircraft.
The prototype flew for the first time in 1981 and the second plane was lost in 1987. The first airplane became fully operational in 1987 and the production of the Tu-160s continued since 1992 when President Yeltsin announced that the country didn't need more strategic bombers. Since then, the production included 35 Blackjacks, with two of them being the prototypes. The production and maintenance of the aircraft were especially expensive.
Tu-160 has a range of 12.300km, and it was the second Soviet aircraft (after the Tu-95) that could reach the US without the need of refueling mid-flight. However, the Tu-160s could never replace the older Tu-95s, due to their impressively high cost.
In 1989, one Tu-160 reached the speed of 2.220km/h for the first time. Although, after that incident, the top speed of the bombers was limited to 2.000km/h to expand the lifetime of the engines and planes. The aircraft won in total 44 world records.
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Armament
Tu-160s are armed with the Kh-55 cruise missiles and the air-to-surface missiles Kh-15. The capacity includes 12 of the first missiles and 24 of the second ones. Both missiles can receive nuclear warheads. The missiles are being located in internal weapon bays, and the bomber can throw free-fall bombs with a maximum weight of 40 tons (in total).
