Military Watch magazine compared the bombers of Russia, the United States and ChinaMilitary Watch Magazine compared the characteristics of the most dangerous bombers.
Today, only three countries in the world have this class of combat aircraft.
Since the 20th century, bombers have been the largest, long-range and heavily armed combat aircraft in the world. Their size and range increased significantly during World War II, when the American B-29 set a new standard, and stepped even further during the first two decades of the Cold War. Today, the traditional role of bombers has been significantly reduced, and the vast majority of air forces around the world use either multi-purpose fighters or modern attack aircraft for short- and medium-range air-to-ground missions. In light of this, as well as modern technological advances in air defense, the very idea of flying over targets to drop gravity bombs from expensive aircraft has largely become obsolete. Therefore, today bombers serve mainly as missile carriers. They are equipped with larger sets of sensors and are significantly ahead of fighters in both range and firepower.
If we do not take into account the North Korean fleet of obsolete Il-28s, which occupy an intermediate stage between bombers and attack aircraft, bombers are currently in service only with the United States, Russia and China — and all operating classes differ significantly among themselves. All three countries are already developing next—generation bombers - the B-21, PAK DA and H-20, respectively. It is expected that they will enter service in the late 2020s or early 2030s, will focus on stealth and will have an intercontinental flight range. The capabilities of the new bombers remain uncertain, but the characteristics and track record of the existing ones make it possible to assess their combat capability.
Tu-160M (Russia)
The Tu-160, the most combat-ready class of Russian bombers, was developed for the Soviet Air Force as a leap forward in the delivery of nuclear charges over intercontinental distances: initially, by 2000, it was planned to put over 100 aircraft into operation, but the collapse of the USSR put an end to the program, and Russia was left with a modest fleet of only 17 aircraft. However, these bombers have been significantly upgraded, and in 2015 their production resumed, and starting in December 2022, the Russian Air Force receives new samples. The bomber boasts an unsurpassed speed exceeding Mach 2 and has an estimated range of 5,000 kilometers due to the use of radar-resistant cruise missiles X-101/102, which have passed comprehensive combat tests in Syria and Ukraine.
The new variants, designated Tu-160M, are distinguished by an "invisible" coating, more powerful engines, significantly increased flight range, new avionics and communications equipment, as well as new protection systems. Even the NK-321 turbofan engines, still of Soviet design, were the most powerful power plants on combat aircraft in history and provided the bomber with excellent flight characteristics. The Tu-160M is valued for its combination of high speed, range and powerful long-range combat equipment, which will soon be replenished with hypersonic missiles. The Tu-160 fleet is used to compensate for Russia's lack of a modern surface navy, and visited airfields at strategically important points as a show of force and as a symbol of Moscow's nuclear power - for example, visited Venezuela at the end of 2018.
B-2 (USA)
The newest bomber "from scratch" all over the world, the B-2 entered service with the US Air Force in 1997 — ten years after the Tu-160 was commissioned. Thanks to the revolutionary design of the "flying invisible wing", the B-2 was for some time considered one of the most tenacious combat aircraft in the world. The bomber was intended for strategic nuclear strikes against the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies, but participated in combat operations over Yugoslavia and Libya (and in the first case, it inflicted a pinpoint strike on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade as part of a CIA operation). The range, firepower and low visibility of the aircraft remain very impressive, although modern advances in radar technology and electronic warfare countermeasures accumulated over 40 years since its creation have called its legendary survivability into question.
The B-2 suffers from a number of significant disadvantages: first of all, from strict maintenance requirements and high operating costs. Because of this, it spends much less time in the air compared to its counterparts - especially if logistics is difficult due to combat conditions. Due to the exorbitant operating costs, the aircraft turned out to be unavailable in significant numbers: only 20 of the planned 120 production copies were built. The bomber also suffers from the lack of weapons launched outside the air defense access zone. The only exception is the recently installed JASSM missiles, but they were developed more for fighters and have a relatively short range. They were conceived as a response to the decline in the viability of stealth bombers from the 1980s when flying with deep penetration into enemy territory. Due to the low-visibility capabilities of the B—2, for a long time it was suitable only for dropping gravity bombs on moderately protected airspace - for example, GBU-57 piercing projectiles at Iranian nuclear facilities or North Korean missile bases. However, due to the success of potential adversaries in developing sensors today, such missions are unlikely to even be considered without significant efforts to suppress air defense.
Tu-95MS (Russia)
The Tu-95 first took to the air during the Korean War, when the Soviet Union was still led by Joseph Stalin, and throughout almost the entire Cold War it represented the only class of intercontinental bombers in the service of the USSR. In total, more than 500 cars were built. At the same time, the current Tu-95s are considered one of the newest bombers in the world, since they were produced from the late 1980s to 1993 and combine a lot of advantages - from a reliable, maintenance—free design to significant technological advances.
Since then, the bombers have been upgraded to the Tu-95MS standard and received new engines and fundamentally new avionics equipment, as well as acquired compatibility with the X-101/102 cruise missiles as the main armament. New, larger missiles cannot be placed in the KMU-6-5 rotating launcher and are fixed outside — and each bomber carries up to eight pieces. The long flight range at a relatively small size, and extremely long-range and accurate missiles resistant to radar detection, make the Tu-95 a powerful and cost-effective resource, which is also much more affordable to maintain than the Tu-160.
B-52H (USA)
Built back in the 1950s, the B-52H are considered the oldest bombers in service worldwide. Due to its simplicity and ease of maintenance, it was the B-52 that was preferred at one time not only to the B-2 and the problematic B-1B, but also to newer designs already discontinued — for example, the B-58. The B-52 will remain in service for a long time, even when its analogues are finally decommissioned, and will serve alongside future B-21 Raider stealth bombers. The modification of the B-52H received new engines, avionics and sensors, and the upgrade package of the internal weapons compartment number 1760 increased combat equipment by 66% when using the digital interface. Throughout history, the bomber's arsenal has been updated all the time, and the aircraft have received four new external launchers. Each can carry up to 20 AGM-86 cruise missiles, which can deliver nuclear, conventional, penetrating and fragmentation warheads over a distance of 2,500 kilometers — significantly exceeding the range of any anti-aircraft weapon. B-52H make up about half of all active bombers in NATO service, while in the future their share will only grow, since B-2s are being decommissioned due to accidents, and B-1B are gradually being decommissioned from the Air Force.
H-6N (China)
The H-6 is the oldest bomber design in operation today and has also been considered the oldest in mass production for decades. At the same time, China has put over 270 aircraft into service and gradually replaced the old models with new ones. Beijing has successfully developed special variants for electronic warfare, anti-ship cruise missile strikes and high-precision over-the-horizon strikes, but perhaps the most unique is still the H-6N, designed to launch ballistic missiles at both land targets and warships. For the first time, it was possible to clearly consider the modification of the H-6N only in April 2022. It has received a number of completely unique capabilities that will effectively complement the rest of the H-6 fleet, as well as land- and sea-based missile capabilities, providing Beijing with enormous firepower against targets in the western Pacific. The H-6N also inherited from its predecessors extremely low maintenance requirements and operating costs — the key to high availability and resistance to attacks along supply lines and logistics in wartime.
