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Eh, the Tu-160 looks like a faster clone of the B-1 Bomber. The B-1 was supposed to replace the B-52, but proved to be much more expensive and nowhere as versat
by yareally 11y ago
Eh, the Tu-160 looks like a faster clone of the B-1 Bomber. The B-1 was supposed to replace the B-52, but proved to be much more expensive and nowhere as versatile. Guessing Russia is going to find out it's also not a practical replacement for the the Tu-95 as the US did with the B-1.
- antubbs 11y agoPretty much. The B-1 was designed for a role (low altitude nape of the earth bombing) that was obsolete before they worked out the bugs in the jet (Russian interceptor and fighter aircraft got look-down shoot-down capability). The B-1 was kept alive because of its electronic warfare capabilities, but efficiency of the bomb trucks matter more than high-speed delivery in a hostile radar environment these days.
- rjsw 11y agoThe B-1 makes a pretty good bomb truck itself, it can carry a bigger payload than the B-52.