Five best bombers built in the 20th century, experts from the American military analytical magazine The National Interest(NI) were chosen according to the criterion of “efficiency - cost” and innovativeness of the design for its time. According to the publication, the leaders of bomber aircraft construction of all times can be considered the English Handley Page type O/400 from the First World War, the German Junkers Ju-88, the British de Havilland DH-98 Mosquito and Avro 683 Lancaster from the Second World War, and also the American Boeing B-52 Stratofortress of the Cold War era.
First of the First World War
Shutterstock Handley Page type O/400
According to NI, English came in first place frontline bomber Handley Page type O/400 - the most popular twin-engine bomber of the First World War.
The aircraft was equipped with two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines (322 hp), the take-off weight of the aircraft was 6370 kg, maximum speed- 147 km/h, flight duration - 8 hours, armament - 5 machine guns and 820 kg of bombs.
A total of 554 vehicles of this type were built. They were actively used on the Western Front. Some examples served in Macedonia and Palestine. From August 1918, Handley Page O/400 regularly bombed German industrial centers in the Saarland and the Rhineland. The British began using 750-kilogram bombs, which were super-heavy at that time. By the beginning of November 1918, there were 258 Handley Page O/400 at the front. In 1920, the aircraft was removed from service.
Universal German
Shutterstock Junkers Ju-88
In second place among the outstanding bombers was the German Junkers. The Junkers Ju-88 was a World War II Luftwaffe multi-role aircraft. One of the most versatile aircraft of that war. The Ju-88 was used as a bomber, dive bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, torpedo bomber and night fighter.
The Junkers rightfully became one of the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. From 1937 to 1944, about 3 thousand changes were made to the original design of the high-speed bomber, which led to the creation of six basic designs and more than 60 modifications. The most widespread modification was the Ju-88A-4 bomber. The total number of all aircraft produced exceeded 15 thousand.
The Junkers Ju-88 can rightfully be considered the best among the mass-produced twin-engine bombers of the Luftwaffe - and one of the best aircraft in its class of the Second World War. Wide Application fighter variants of the Ju-88 were also found. For example, the Ju-88G became the best German night fighter.
Ju-88 was exported. His first buyer was Soviet Union, where three Ju-88A were delivered for testing in 1940.
The Romanian Air Force began receiving Ju-88A and D in the spring of 1943. Since the end of 1942, the Hungarian Air Force received a total of up to 100 Ju-88A and D. Finland was supplied with 24 Ju-88A-4 in the spring of 1943. 31 Ju-88A were transferred to Italy in the summer of 1943, but after the capitulation of this country, the Germans took their planes back. In France, the Ju-88A-4 (22 aircraft) abandoned on the territory of the country entered service with the bomber group formed in September 1944.
Spain, which remained neutral, regularly interned german planes who made emergency landings on its territory. Thanks to this, Madrid received about ten Ju-88s - mostly reconnaissance modifications. In addition, in December 1943, 10 Ju-88A-4s were purchased from Germany, and subsequently another 18 such aircraft. Ju-88s served in Spain until 1957.
The Unattainable Englishman
Paul Le Roy de Havilland DH-98 Mosquito
In third place, NI experts put the English de Havilland DH-98 Mosquito, a high-speed bomber and night fighter from the Second World War. Perhaps this is one of the most successful types of aircraft produced by the Allies at that time.
The De Havilland DH-98 Mosquito was a twin-engined high-wing aircraft powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin XXI engines (1,350 hp). Its maximum speed reached 680 km/h, flight range - 3010 km. The bomb load was 900 kg. Crew: two people.
The design of the aircraft used a thick three-layer skin with outer layers of plywood and inner layers of balsa with spruce inserts for strength, covered with fabric on top. This allowed Mosquito to achieve the required strength with a low weight structure.
German radars did not detect these aircraft, since the Mosquito only had engines and some controls made of metal.
The lightness of the design, the careful finishing of the surface of the wings, and the aerodynamic perfection of the machine’s outline made this aircraft practically inaccessible to the enemy.
Mosquitos carried out precision bombing and were also used as target designators during night bombings of German cities. The bomber version lacked defensive small arms, characteristic of bombers of that time. Nevertheless, losses among the Mosquito were among the lowest of all World War II aircraft - 11 per 1 thousand sorties. The speed and altitude of their flight made them highly vulnerable to both German fighters and anti-aircraft artillery fire. Most often in combat reports Royal Air Force it read: “Mission completed, all Mosquito returned to base.”
De Havilland built more than 7 thousand Mosquitos for Great Britain and other allied countries. After the war, the Mosquito was in service in Israel, China People's Republic, Yugoslavia and the Dominican Republic.
The workhorse of the Royal Air Force
Shutterstock Avro 683 Lancaster
In fourth place is the English Avro 683 Lancaster. The Avro 683 Lancaster B.Mk1 aircraft was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Merlin XXIV engines (1640 hp). The maximum speed of the vehicle was 462 km/h at an altitude of 3500 m. The flight range was 4072 km with 3175 kg of bombs.
Defensive weapons - 8 Browning machine guns of 7.7 mm caliber. A total of 7,374 Lancaster bombers were produced. This aircraft is called the "workhorse" of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. From mid-1942 until Victory Day, it was Bomber Command's main weapon in night raids on targets in Germany.
The heaviest bomb dropped from a Lancaster during World War II was the 9,988 kg Grand Slam, which fell to the ground faster than sound.
The Lancaster could carry a much larger bomb load than the American B-17 Flying Fortress or B-24 Liberator, and had a significantly greater range. From 1942 to 1945, Lancaster bombings led to the destruction of many German cities and the deaths of thousands civilians Germany.
At the same time, complex and expensive heavy four-engine Lancasters were easily destroyed by relatively cheap German fighters. Air battles were conducted in conditions that were very favorable for the Luftwaffe, since damaged German planes could land at their departure airfields, and German pilots who parachuted out, as a rule, returned to duty.
Lancaster finally retired in the early 1960s. The Canadian Air Force used it for a long time after World War II as a reconnaissance aircraft and basic patrol aircraft.
Fortress in the stratosphere
Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
In fifth place is the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Born after World War II, these aircraft still form the backbone of the US strategic bomber force and represent military power superpowers. The B-52 prototype made its first flight in the spring of 1952. This is a subsonic aircraft with a high aspect ratio swept wing. Bicycle type chassis. Under each console of the extremely flexible wing, eight turbojet engines are placed in pairs on pylons.
The B-52 was designed as a high-altitude bomber for attacks using free-falling nuclear bombs.
Catastrophic experience combat use The B-29 in North Korea in 1950 clearly demonstrated that the United States urgently needed a new strategic bomber. The first two generations of aircraft selected by the USAF proved almost equally unsuitable in this capacity - the hopeless B-36, the short-range B-47, the B-58 with questionable performance, and the obsolete XB-70 before it entered service.
In the 1950s, the only supersonic bomber in the West, the Convair B-58 Hustler with a delta wing, took off for its first flight. It had a flight range insufficient to carry out strategic objectives. Day-to-day operation of the B-58 was considered much more difficult for bomber pilots. dangerous business than a hypothetical encounter with an enemy fighter.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States made an expensive attempt to create a supersonic strategic bomber, the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, capable of replacing the B-52. The plane was born in painful disputes between the customer, the manufacturer and the US Congress. Some believed that an intercontinental ballistic missile would perform the task more successfully than a bulky and vulnerable aircraft. Others said the B-70's speed and altitude were too high for it to accurately drop bombs. Still others believed that the car would become obsolete even before the designers could cope with the mass of purely technical problems. The first flight of the B-70 took place almost ten years after the start of development. A year later, the second prototype crashed as a result of a collision with an accompanying fighter. Work on the B-70 was stopped.
The cost of the B-70 is now assessed as a waste of taxpayer funds.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, B-52 aircraft were actively used in combat operations in Southeast Asia to carry out operations under the general code name Arclight. The aircraft participating in the operations were stationed at Andersen air bases (Guam), Utapao (Thailand) and Kadena (Okinawa). In December 1972, one of the largest air operations, codenamed Linebacker II, was carried out against Hanoi, Haiphong and other North Vietnamese cities. More than 200 B-52 aircraft that took part in the operation flew over 729 combat missions and dropped 13,620 tons of bombs.
During the 1991 Gulf War, 70 B-52 aircraft were used to bomb Iraq. According to the Americans, the B-52 was one of the aircraft that was most often requested ground forces to suppress Iraqi ground forces.
During the 2004 Iraq War, a B-52 squadron completed the longest flight in the history of air operations from the continental United States, covering a route of approximately 22,500 km. The planes were in the air for 34 hours and 20 minutes.
Four in-flight refuelings were carried out.
Several record-breaking flights demonstrated the outstanding flight-tactical characteristics of the B-52 bomber back in the distant 1950s. On January 18, 1957, three B-52 bombers flew around the world, flying 39,750 km in 45 hours 19 minutes at average speed 850 km/h. On January 11, 1962, the B-52 set a record for distance without in-flight refueling, covering 20,168 km in 22 hours 9 minutes.
From 1954 to 1963, 742 B-52s were delivered to the US Air Force. Seventy-eight remain in combat strength Bomber Command today, having undergone multiple upgrades over the past decades that will extend the operation of the aircraft until the 2030-2040s.
Consolation prizes for Russian "Bears"
In addition to the five prizes, The National Interest experts decided to establish incentive prizes. Among others, additional nominees included two Russian bombers - Tu-22M and Tu-95, one British, US Navy carrier-based attack aircraft, unmanned aircraft USA and Italian bomber from the First World War.
Tu-95 (according to NATO codification Bear - “Bear”) is a Soviet and Russian turboprop strategic missile-carrying bomber, the world’s fastest aircraft with propeller engines. Until now, it is the only serial bomber and missile carrier in the world with turboprop engines. The total number of developed variants of the Tu-95 aircraft, including serial modifications, prototypes, flying laboratories and unrealized projects, was close to fifty, and the total number of vehicles produced was close to 500 units.
Tu-22M (according to NATO codification Backfire) is a Soviet long-range supersonic missile carrier-bomber with variable wing geometry. A total of 497 units were produced, of which 268 were in the Tu-22M3 version.
A strategic bomber is an expensive type of weapon that not every country can afford. To create such an aircraft, significant scientific potential and a material and industrial base are required. Today, only two powers have strategic aviation: Russia and the United States. Perhaps over time they will be joined by China, whose specialists are actively developing this type of weapon. the site has collected six of the most powerful strategic bombers in the world.
Tu-22M3
Photo: airwar.ruThe Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber is designed to hit targets throughout the Eurasian continent and in nearby seas. Recently, the bombers were modernized and received completely new on-board electronics. The modernization carried out increased the bomber's capabilities in breaking through Aegis-type air defenses; the modernized bomber is often called the EuroPro killer. In addition, one of the strategist's purposes is to destroy aircraft carriers.
Photo: photofile.ru The supersonic bomber's arsenal includes the Kh-32 cruise missile, which reaches speeds of more than 4,000 kilometers per hour and has a flight range of up to 1,000 kilometers. The speed of the missile-carrying bomber itself reaches 2300 km/h.
In addition to Russia, aircraft of the Tu-22M family were in service with the Ukrainian Air Force. However, on this moment Ukrainians dismantled all 60 Tu-22Ms (17 Tu-22M2s and 43 Tu-22M3s).
Ukrainian Air Force Tu-22M3 is destroyed using equipment from the American company Raytheon Technical Services, Poltava airbase, 2002. Rockwell B-1 Lancer
Photo: topwar.ru The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is the only aircraft in service with the US Air Force with a variable swept wing. The bomber's design uses composite materials that reduce the effective dispersion area. The front horizontal surfaces, edges of the wing, stabilizer and air intakes, as well as the bomb bay doors, are made of composites.
Photo: aircraftinformation.info The joints of the airframe skin are sealed with a special tape, which is then covered with paint. According to the creators, B-1 has unique characteristics initial survival rate, surpassing the B-52 by 2-3 times according to some criteria. The Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber can reach speeds of 1,328 km/h and carry 56 tons of bombs or missiles.
"Tu-95MS"
Photo: russianengineering.narod.ru It's old, slow, turboprop, and very noisy. It can be detected by any long-range radar, but this does not bother the Tu-95MS at all - the aircraft is armed with X-55 cruise missiles with a nuclear warhead, which can hit targets at a distance of 3000 km (SM modification). Therefore, it is not necessary for the Bear to enter the enemy’s air defense zone.
Photo: sdelanounas.ru Low-speed - only 830 km/h - the Tu-95MS bomber has high range flight (about 11 thousand km and a ceiling of 12 thousand meters). During a 17-hour flight, the Bear consumes 96 tons of aviation kerosene.
Photo: wikimedia.org And the Tu-95MS, with its frequent appearances near NATO borders, is quite costly for the allies. The fact is that the safety margin of the outdated Bear airframe is simply huge, it will last for 20 years, but for the common NATO fighter F-16 this figure is 8000 hours, for the F-18 - 6000 hours.
Northrop B-2 Spirit
Photo: wikimedia.org The Northrop B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bomber is the most expensive aircraft in history military aviation. In 1997 prices, it was worth about two billion dollars. The stealth bomber's cruising speed is low - only 800 km/h, but it has a high flight range - 11 thousand km and a ceiling of 15 thousand meters.
Photo: wikimedia.org The aircraft is capable of carrying 16 atomic bombs B-61, or 8 guided 907 kg laser-guided bombs GBU-27 Paveway II, or 80 227 kg bombs.
B-52 - "Stratofortress"
Photo: wikipedia.org The B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers can rightly be called veterans: the first 52 took flight in 1952, and the last left the assembly line in 1963. The US Air Force plans to keep this aircraft in service until 2040.
Photo: realitypod.com The bomber is subsonic, its maximum speed is 960 km/h, its flight range is 16,700 km, and its ceiling is about 16 thousand meters. The B-52 Stratofortress can carry 27 tons of combat payload. The bomber was actively used during the recent battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, where it successfully coped with combat missions.
"Tu-160" "Blackjack"
Photo: armyweb.cz The Tu-160 is the largest supersonic aircraft in the history of military aviation, an aircraft with variable wing geometry, as well as the most powerful and heaviest combat aircraft in the world. It can compete with a fighter in speed - 2,300 km/h, can carry up to 54 tons of bombs and missiles, and has a maximum flight range of 13,950 km.
Photo: .yaplakal.com The Russian Air Force has 16 such aircraft in service, which are gradually being modernized. At one time, these powerful aircraft were possessed by the Ukrainian Air Force, but they were destroyed on the initiative of Washington, and all reserves were also destroyed cruise missiles X-55 with nuclear warhead.
Disposal of Tu-160, Ukraine. Today, only two states on the planet have special air forces, which are called strategic aviation. It is clear that these states are the USA and the Russian Federation. Strategic aviation, as a rule, has nuclear weapons on board and can easily strike enemies located at a distance of several thousand kilometers.
Strategic aviation has always been considered elite. This is how it remains in the eyes of the American, Soviet, and now Russian military command. Submarine missile carriers and ground-based intercontinental missiles, all of them, together with strategic aviation, are part of the so-called nuclear triad. All this power has been the main force in global deterrence for many decades.
Despite the fact that attention to strategic bombers, or rather to their importance in Lately decreased slightly, however, they still remain an important factor for maintaining parity between Russia and the United States.
Nowadays, the list of tasks for which strategic aviation can be used has expanded significantly.
Now strategic aviation has to successfully master conventional types of ammunition along with precision weapons. Both the United States and Russia are quite energetically using strategic bombers to launch missile and bomb attacks in the Syrian Republic.
Today, Russian and American strategic aviation has in its arsenal aircraft designed and built back in the 50-60s of the last century. Not long ago, the United States began work on creating the latest strategic bombers, which are expected to be put into service before 2025.
Work on a similar program is underway in Russia. The new strategic bomber has not yet been given a name. All that is available is the abbreviation PAK DA, meaning work on the creation of a Perspective Aviation Complex long-range aviation. Development is carried out at the Tupolev Design Bureau. The new vehicle is expected to be put into service in the same way as in the United States until 2025.
It is especially emphasized that PAK DA is not a project to modernize currently available strategic bombers. This is the development of a completely new aircraft using the most modern technologies, which the aircraft industry currently has.
However, before moving on to getting acquainted with the PAK DA, it would not hurt to get acquainted with the combat vehicles that are currently in the arsenal of Russian and American strategic aviation.
Position and prospects of modern strategic aviation of the USA and the Russian Federation
American strategic bombers
Today, American strategic aviation has the B-52 and B-2 Spirit heavy bombers, and in addition another aircraft: the B-1B Lancer bomber. It was specially developed to launch nuclear strikes on enemy territory. However, in the mid-90s, the American strategic forces had to say goodbye to him, as he was removed from their composition.
B-1B bombers are considered similar to the Russian Tu-160 jets, although they are inferior to the latter in size. According to available information provided by the American State Department in January of this year, 12 B-2 bombers, as well as 73 B-52 aircraft with the N modification, continue to be on combat duty.
Today, the B-52 bombers, developed back in the 50-60s, are the basis strategic forces U.S.A. These aircraft carry AGM-86B ALCM cruise missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads. Bombers have a flight range that exceeds 2,750 km.
B-2 Spirit bombers are the most technologically advanced and most expensive planes on the planet. Their price is significantly more than the astronomical two billion dollars. The first bombers were manufactured back in the 80s. However, a decade later the program had to be closed. As it turned out, even the United States could not cope with such a high cost.
During this time, they managed to produce twenty-one B-2 vehicles. The bombers are made using stealth technologies that have the lowest electronic paramagnetic resonance in the world. It is significantly lower than the small stealth aircraft of the F-35 and F-22 types. B-2 Spirit bombers have only free-fall bombs, as a result of which they are ineffective against enemies who have advanced air defense systems at their disposal. In particular, the Russian S-400 air defense system can easily detect B-2 bombers.
Thus, the B-2 Spirit aircraft are rather “strange” bombers. Despite the astronomical prices, their combat effectiveness in the event of a possible nuclear conflict would be very ambiguous.
B-1B Lancer bombers are also not capable of arming themselves with strategic cruise missiles. Although, to be more precise, the arsenal American army Today it does not have such weapons suitable for these aircraft.
These days, these bombers are used primarily for strikes using conventional munitions. It is possible that they can be armed with free-falling bombs with nuclear warheads. However, it is unlikely that these bombers would be able to penetrate deep into the territory of an enemy with serious air defenses.
What prospects does American strategic aviation have? In 2015, aircraft manufacturer Northrop Grumman, which created the B-2 Spirit, won another tender announced by the United States Department of Defense to build new American strategic bombers, planned to be called the B21.
Work on the development of these machines began to be carried out under the LRS-B program. The abbreviation stands for Long-Range Strike Bomber, which in turn can be translated as “Long-Range Strike Bomber.” Today it is no longer a secret to anyone what the new bombers will look like.
Just like the B-2 Spirit, the new vehicle will be built according to the “flying wing” design. The military department demands that the new aircraft be even less visible on radar, and its cost could exceed the American budget. They intend to begin producing the latest bombers in the next decade. The American military is currently planning to purchase a hundred of the newest B21s, and in the future completely replace them with B-52s and B-2s.
The new bombers, as conceived by their developers, will be able to carry out combat missions, both controlled by a crew and unmanned. total cost The project is worth 80 billion dollars.
Russian strategic bombers
The Russian Air Force currently has two heavy bombers: the Tu-95 MS modification and the “White Swan” Tu-160. The most popular strategic bombers in the domestic Air Force were the turboprop T-95 “Bears”, the first flight of which was carried out during the time of Stalin in 1952. Although, it should be emphasized that the bombers used today are related to the “M” modification and were created back in the 80s.
Thus, it turns out that the main arsenal of the Tu-95 is even younger than the American B-52 bombers. We can add to this that in recent years they have already begun to modernize these aircraft to the MSM modification. It is planned to modernize 35 aircraft, and this in turn will facilitate the adoption of the latest X-101/102 cruise missiles.
With all this, even the “Bears” that have not undergone modernization will be able to take on board the Kh-55SM missile system with a range of up to 3500 km, as well as the potential for installing nuclear warheads on them. Kh-101/102 missiles can travel up to 5,500 km. Today the Russian army has 62 Tu-95 units.
The second aircraft currently in operation Russian Air Force, considered Tu-160. In general, these are supersonic bombers with variable wing geometry. The Russian Air Force has sixteen such aircraft. These supersonic bombers can also be armed with cruise missiles of the Kh-101/102 and Kh-55SM types.
Today, we have already started producing modifications of Tu-160M type aircraft. These are the first bombers of this modification, which were transferred to the Russian Aerospace Forces in August of this year. These bombers are equipped with new systems with on-board electronics, and in addition, work is underway to create modifications such as the Tu-160M2. On the latest modifications of vehicles, along with cruise missiles, the use of free-fall bombs can also be used.
Despite the ongoing work to modernize the Tu-160, the Tupolev Design Bureau is promoting the project with the new PAK DA bomber. As already mentioned, it is planned to launch their serial production until 2025.
Efforts to create the latest strategic bomber began in 2009. The design team was given the task of carrying out the first flight of the aircraft in 2019. It is assumed that in the next decade, or rather closer to its end, PAK DA bombers will completely replace the Tu-95 and Tu-160 and will become the main aircraft in Russian strategic aviation.
In 2012, the Tupolev Design Bureau announced that development work on the PAK DA project had finally started. According to the information released, the new bombers will be carried out according to the “flying wing” design. It seems that everything is being done by analogy with the American strategic bombers of the B-21 and B-2 Spirit types.
The presence of a large wingspan prevents the latest strategic bombers from becoming supersonic. However, this can provide significant range, as well as low visibility to enemy radars. It is expected that there will be a massive use of composite and radio-absorbing materials in aircraft designs.
According to the designers, it is assumed that this approach to the matter will have an impact on a significant reduction in electronic paramagnetic resonance. Moreover, it is planned to significantly reduce the weight of the future heavy bomber. Thus, PAK DA aircraft will be the first domestic bombers to be manufactured using stealth technologies.
In addition, the presence of such a scheme will provide an opportunity for a good combination of flight characteristics and sufficient internal volume of the aircraft. And this, in turn, will make it possible to take on board more fuel, which will naturally have an impact on increasing the flight range of heavy bombers.
It is assumed that the take-off weight of the bombers will exceed 100 tons. Although there is as yet unconfirmed information about the mass of even 112, or even 200 tons. It was also reported that in terms of combat load, future bombers will be at least as good as the Tu-160. This means that they will be able to take on board missiles and bombs weighing more than thirty tons. The military department requires designers to increase the flight range of new aircraft within 12,000 km.
In 2014, it was reported that the tender to create engines for new aircraft, tentatively named NK-65, was won by the Samara company Kuznetsov.
Perhaps prototypes of the new bombers will be manufactured in Kazan, at the Gorbunov KAPO plant, where aircraft production will possibly be established. It is also known that the Tikhomirovsky Research Institute of Instrument Engineering is already developing radars for new heavy bombers.
It is not known for certain how many new strategic bombers they intend to build. It is possible that their number will be directly dependent on the economic situation in the state, because such aircraft are very expensive. It is possible that the public will be able to get acquainted with more accurate data on the number sometime in 2020. Nevertheless, if these aircraft are being built to replace the Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers, then the production batch will contain several dozen aircraft.
Data on the PAK DA project is currently extremely scarce. Representatives of the domestic Air Force report only general information about it, and even that is very laconic.
According to statements by the Russian military department, the PAK DA will be armed with all currently available aviation weapons, and it is possible that also promising hypersonic missiles.
There is no information about the time of production of the first prototypes of the new machines, as well as the timing of the launch of the project itself into mass production. It is clear that the initially stated deadlines are, as a rule, very conditional and will constantly change. Everything will depend on how complex the design work will be, as well as the financing of the project itself.
On top of that, the decision on the modernization and subsequent production of the Tu-160 may also have an impact on the implementation of the PAK, DA project and the timing of its implementation. These days, American strategic aviation is inferior to Russian. Mainly thanks to the cruise missiles that are in service with the Russian Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers.
And American B-2s can only carry out air strikes with the help of free-falling bombs, and this significantly reduces their combat effectiveness in the event of an emergency. global conflicts. Thus, the KR X-101/102 is twice as effective in range as its American counterparts, which is why domestic strategic aviation is in a more advantageous position.
The prospects for new Russian and American projects are extremely unclear. Both projects are at the initial stages and it is not yet clear whether they will be fully implemented.
Currently, only two states in the world have a special kind air force, which is called strategic aviation - Russia and the USA. The aircraft that are part of this branch of the armed forces are capable of carrying nuclear weapons on board and striking at an enemy located several thousand kilometers away. Strategic aviation has always been considered the elite of the American and Soviet (Russian) Air Forces.
Together with submarine missile carriers and intercontinental missiles ground-based Strategic aviation forms the so-called nuclear triad, which has been the main instrument of global deterrence for many decades.
Despite the fact that the importance of strategic bombers in last decades decreased somewhat, they continue to remain an important factor in maintaining the foreign policy balance between the Russian Federation and the United States.
Currently, the list of tasks for which strategic aviation is involved has become noticeably wider. The times of nuclear confrontation have long since sunk into oblivion, but new challenges have emerged in the world. Strategic aviation is successfully mastering conventional types of ammunition (including precision weapons). Both the United States and Russia are quite actively using long-range bombers to launch missile and bomb attacks in Syria.
Today, the basis of strategic aviation in the United States and Russia is made up of aircraft developed back in the late 50s of the last century. Several years ago, work began in the United States on the creation of a new strategic bomber, which they plan to put into service in 2025.
A similar program exists in Russia, the new “strategist” is still called PAK DA (promising aviation complex long-range aviation). The development is carried out by the Design Bureau named after. Tupolev, the new vehicle is planned to be put into service by 2025. It should be emphasized that PAK DA is not a project to modernize currently existing strategic bombers, but a development of a fundamentally new car using the most modern technologies existing in the aircraft industry today.
However, before moving on to considering the PAK DA, a few words should be said about the combat vehicles that are in service today with the strategic aviation of Russia and the United States.
Strategic aviation of Russia and the USA: current state and prospects
Currently, the US strategic air force includes the B-2 Spirit and B-52 bombers. There is another aircraft - the B-1B Lancer bomber, which was developed to apply nuclear strikes across enemy territory, but in the mid-90s it was withdrawn from the American strategic forces. The B-1B is considered an analogue of the Russian jet Tu-160, although it is inferior to the latter in size. According to data provided by the US State Department on January 1 of this year, 12 B-2 aircraft and 73 B-52 modification N vehicles are on combat duty.
Currently, the B-52 bomber, developed back in the late 50s, is the backbone of American strategic forces. This aircraft is armed with AGM-86B ALCM cruise missiles, which can be equipped with nuclear weapons. combat unit. Their flight range exceeds 2700 km.
The B-2 Spirit is the most technologically advanced and most expensive aircraft in the world. Its value exceeds a fantastic 2 billion dollars. The first bomber of this type was manufactured in the late 80s, but ten years later the program was closed - such costs turned out to be unaffordable even for the United States. During this time, 21 B-2 aircraft were manufactured. The bomber is made using stealth technology and has the lowest ESR in the world. It is even lower than that of small stealth aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35. The B-2 Spirit is armed only with free-fall bombs, so it is ineffective against an enemy with an advanced air defense system. For example, Russian S-400 air defense systems perfectly “see” the B-2.
So the B-2 Spirit is a rather strange bomber. Despite the colossal cost, its effectiveness in a possible nuclear conflict is very ambiguous.
The B-1B Lancer is also unable to carry strategic cruise missiles. More precisely, in the arsenal of the American army today there is no such weapon suitable for this aircraft. Currently this bomber is used for strikes common species ammunition. It is probably possible to hang free-falling bombs from a nuclear warhead on it, but it is unlikely that this vehicle will be able to penetrate deep into enemy territory with effective air defense.
Now about the prospects for American strategic aviation. At the end of 2018, the aircraft manufacturing company Northrop Grumman (it created the B-2 Spirit) won the US Department of Defense tender to build a new American “strategist”, which will be called B21. Work on this vehicle was carried out as part of the LRS-B (Long-Range Strike Bomber) program, which translates as “Long-Range Strike Bomber”. It is already known what the new car will look like.
Just like the B-2 Spirit, it will be designed according to the “flying wing” design. The military demands that the new bomber become even less visible on radar screens, and its price be more acceptable for the American budget. The production of new bombers is planned to begin in the middle of the next decade. The American military department currently plans to purchase one hundred new B21s and in the future completely replace the B-2 and B-52 with them.
The new bomber will be able to fly both under crew control and in drone mode.
The total cost of the program is $80 billion.
The Russian Air Force currently has two aircraft in service: the Tu-95 (modification of MS) and the Tu-160. White Swan».
The most popular strategic bomber of the Russian Air Force is the turboprop T-95 Bear, the first flight of which took place during the life of Joseph Stalin (1952). However, it should be noted that the aircraft that are in operation today belong to the “M” modification and were manufactured in the 80s. So most T-95s are even younger than the American B-52 bombers. Moreover, in last years the modernization of these aircraft to the “MSM” modification has begun (35 aircraft will be converted), which will make it possible to equip them with the latest X-101/102 cruise missiles.
However, an unmodernized “Bear” can also carry the Kh-55SM missile launcher with a flight range of 3.5 thousand km with the possibility of installing a nuclear warhead on them. The new Kh-101/102 missiles will be able to fly up to 5.5 thousand km. Today Russian army has 62 Tu-95 units.
The second aircraft currently operated by the Russian Air Force is the Tu-160 supersonic variable-wing geometry bomber. Sixteen aircraft of this type are available. The Tu-160 can also carry Kh-55SM and Kh-101/102 cruise missiles.
Currently, a modification of the Tu-160M is already being produced (the first bomber of this modification was handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 2, 2016), on which new complex on-board electronics, work is underway to create a modification of the T-160M2. New modifications of the vehicle, in addition to cruise missiles, will be able to use free-falling bombs.
Despite the intensification of work on the modernization of the Tu-160, the Tupolev Design Bureau is moving forward with the project of the new PAK DA bomber, which they plan to launch into production by 2025.
Development of a new strategic bomber began in 2009. The designers are faced with the task of carrying out the first flight of the aircraft in 2019.
It is planned that by the end of the next decade the PAK DA will completely replace the Tu-95 and Tu-160 and will become the main machine of Russian strategic aviation.
In 2012, the Tupolev Design Bureau announced that development work was beginning on the PAK DA project. According to the information released, the new bomber will be designed according to the “flying wing” design, just like american planes B-2 Spirit and B-21.
The large wingspan will not allow the new bomber to overcome the speed of sound, but will provide a significant flight range and good takeoff and landing characteristics. They plan to actively use composite and radio-absorbing materials in the design of the aircraft, which will reduce the ESR and significantly reduce the weight of the future “strategist.” PAK DA will be the first domestic bomber, manufactured using stealth technology.
In addition, such a design provides a good combination of flight characteristics and sufficient internal volume. Which in turn will allow you to take more fuel on board and increase the bomber’s flight range.
Presumably, the take-off weight of the bomber will exceed 100 tons (there is information about the weight of 112 tons and even 200 tons). It was stated that the combat load of the future bomber would be at least as good as the Tu-160, which means that it would be able to carry more than thirty tons of missiles and bombs. The military requires the flight range of the new vehicle to be 12 thousand km.
In mid-2014, it was announced that the competition to create engines for the new aircraft was won by the Kuznetsov company (Samara), presumably power point called NK-65.
It is assumed that prototypes of the new bomber will be manufactured at the Kazan plant KAPO im. Gorbunov”, they plan to place mass production of the machine there. It is also known that the development of a radar for a new strategic bomber is currently being carried out by the Research Institute of Instrument Engineering named after. V.V.Tikhomirova.
It is not yet entirely clear exactly how many new strategic bombers they plan to build, although, probably, their number will depend on the economic situation in the country: such machines are very expensive. Most likely, we will be able to get more accurate data on the quantity closer to 2020. However, if this aircraft is being built to replace the Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, then the production batch should consist of several dozen aircraft.
There is currently very little information on the PAK DA project. Representatives of the leadership of the Russian Air Force report only general information about the PAK DA - and even then very sparingly.
If you believe the statements of Russian military officials, the PAK DA will be armed with all types aviation weapons both existing and future, including missiles with hypersonic speed.
It is not entirely clear when exactly it will be produced prototype a new car, as well as the deadline for launching this project into series. The fact is that the dates announced initially are very conditional; they can change both up and down. This depends on the complexity of the design work and the financing of the project.
In addition, the decision on modernization and further production of Tu-160 bombers may also affect the implementation of the PAK DA program and the timing of its implementation. Currently, Russian strategic aviation is superior to American aviation. Primarily due to the cruise missiles that are armed with the Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers. American B-2 bombers can only strike with free-falling bombs, which significantly reduces their combat effectiveness in the event of a global conflict.
Russian KR X-101/102 missiles have twice the range of their American counterparts, which puts domestic strategic aircraft in a clearly advantageous position.
The future of the new projects (B-21 in the USA and PAK DA in Russia) is still vague; both aircraft are at the initial stage of development and it is not yet clear whether they will be fully implemented.
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