On this day, December 18, 1981, the Tupolev Tu-160 "White Swan" first took to the skies.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Sat Dec 19, 2020: On 18 December, 1981 the #WhiteSwan first took to the skies - ever since the Tupolev #Tu160 have ...

CivMilAir ✈Santa ClausChristmas treeSnowmanBell Retweeted

Swan On 18 December, 1981 the #WhiteSwan first took to the skies - ever since the Tupolev #Tu160 have been soaring high.

Airplane Not only this supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber is a gorgeous-looking plane & its nigh perfect design ensured longevity.
@UAC_Russia_eng

Link to tweet

Tupolev Tu-160

Tu-160 Belyy Lebed



Tupolev Tu-160 Aleksandr Novikov in flight over Russia, May 2014

Role: Supersonic strategic heavy bomber
National origin: Soviet Union
Design group: Tupolev
Built by: Kazan Aircraft Production Association
First flight: 18 December 1981; 41 years ago
Introduction: April 1987
Status: In service
Primary users: Russian Aerospace Forces, Soviet Air Forces (historical), Ukrainian Air Force (historical)
Produced: 1984–1992, 2002, 2008, 2017, 2021–
Number built: 36 (9 test and 27 serial)

The Tupolev Tu-160 (Russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, romanized: Belyj Lebeď, lit. 'White Swan'; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It is the largest and heaviest Mach 2+ supersonic military aircraft ever built and second to the experimental XB-70 Valkyrie in overall length. As of 2022, it is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft, the fastest bomber in use and the largest and heaviest variable-sweep wing airplane ever flown.

Entering service in 1987, the Tu-160 was the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Union. As of 2016, the Russian Air Force's Long Range Aviation branch had 16 aircraft in service. The Tu-160 active fleet has been undergoing upgrades to electronics systems since the early 2000s. The Tu-160M modernization program of existing models has begun with the first updated aircraft delivered in December 2014. In January 2022 the first serial built aircraft had its test flight, with two planned for delivery in 2022 from 10 on order. Plans include 50 new Tu-160M bombers and upgrading 16 existing aircraft{.}

{snip}

[TheBlackAdder]

1. Enduring longevity because Russia can't put any new shit in the sky.

.

At least it's not using propellers, like most of their bombers.

.

[AntivaxHunters]

2. We have planes much older still flying

The B52 for instance.
Russia introduced the Sukhoi Su-57 in 2020.
Let's be honest please.

[TheBlackAdder]

3. I was speaking about bombers.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. While Certainly True...

...I have enduring doubts about the true capability of 90% of Soviet (and later, Russian) hardware.
It's a known fact that that they don't have the quality assurance focus of western industry, and that the first few of each new piece of hardware are hand-built.
Once they go into full production, everything is questionable.
And, we only see, and hear about, those first few.
Yes, they have SOME impressive technologies and yes they have some newer stuff.
But, do they actually work?
Remember, they advertised an impenetrable air defense system, and they sold them to Iraq. The allies overwhelmed that "impenetrable" system in 48 hours.

[Happy Hoosier]

8. "Introduced"

Russia has a long history of announcing and “introducing” aircraft that often see only very limited active deployment. It’s one thing to get to the first flight or even an “IOC.” But the Russians have had great difficulty over the last couple decades getting novel designs into any kind of production. And those that do often have serious operational deficiencies. Basic Russian engineering is sound enough, but graft, corruption and limited resources means planes like the Su-57 are mostly a “paper asset.” The first regiment isn’t even expected to be fully equipped until 2025.

[patphil]

7. Just an FYI, but the B-52 is even older and still flying.

In fact, the Air Force plans for them to be around for decades to come.

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2022/4/4/boeing-gears-up-to-replace-b-52-engines

[JohnnyRingo]

11. Simply and respectively put, none of that's true.

Please read my post further down.

Russia has a good number of cutting edge air superiority weapons.
When people think of Russian bombers they imagine the turbo prop driven Bear, a plane I believe is still active in utility, much like our ageing C-130s. Both can fly on station 14+ hours.

"Huckleberry": The right one for the right job.

[MicaelS]

13. "Good number" my foot.

They have between 3 and 15 operational SU-57.

So, how many operational Su-57s does Russia actually have? The short answer is between three and 15, depending on how we count.

Three are serially made examples that have been delivered to the Russian Air Force. Two further aircraft were manufactured but, as of late August 2022, may not have been delivered yet. In addition, there are 10 flyable prototypes. Of the six first-stage ones, only one is likely to be operational. Two more were rebuilt into second-stage prototypes. Four more second-stage prototypes were produced, which brings the likely count of combat-capable prototypes to six.

However, it is possible that up to two of those prototypes were further modified and delivered as serially made Felons, bringing the total number of combat-capable prototypes down to four, and the total number of Su-57s available to the Russian Air Force to nine.

[JohnnyRingo]

16. By good number I meant models.

The person I was replying to asserted that most Russian equipment is propeller driven or hopelessly archaic. That simply isn't true. The Russians have a vast arsenal of cutting edge technology in the air just as we do.

As for numbers, any country's air force has to balance expense with numbers built and deployed. Our F 117 Stealth fighter is so expensive we didn't send them to the Iraq wars. We have a total of 59 and can't afford to lose any.

The Stealth B2 Spirit, our most technological bomber, comes in at 21, though all are not operational. They each cost as much as an aircraft carrier and are seldom risked as well.

When there's no shooting war like in 1943, thousands of examples are not needed and that drives up the unit price. Some modern aircraft like the F/A 18 Hornet are produced in larger numbers because we sell most of them through foreign aid to other friendly countries.

Something as common as the C130 Hercules Turboprop come in at about 112 total in our inventory even though over 2500 have been built for 63 countries. I know this because they're stationed near me at the Youngstown AR base and they've all recently been grounded for bad props.

[cab67]

5. Looks like it was heavily inspired by the B-1.

[JohnnyRingo]

9. Actually, both this Blackjack and B-1 Lancer were inspired by....

... the North American XB-70 Valkyrie. Both bombers were introduced within a year of each other, with the Lancer in Oct '86, and the Blackjack in April '87.

Both planes were designed from a clean sheet of paper, but when trying to design a Mach 2+ bomber there are certain parameters to work within, like the swing wing and engines buried in a lifting body. That makes them look similar, like F1 racecars all look alike. The Blackjack however is somewhat larger (30%), being the biggest, fastest, and heaviest supersonic bomber yet deployed.

In a classic example of government blank check defense, both outrageously expensive bombers were quickly made obsolete by unmanned million dollar cruise missiles.

[JohnnyRingo]

6. "Blackjack".

Here's some trivia. To make it easier to ID Eastern bloc aircraft, NATO has given them names since the Korean war and there are rules to follow:

If it's a bomber the name begins with a B, and a fighter starts with an F. One syllable is propeller driven, and two is jet powered.

That makes it easy to ID the Blackjack here as well as others like the Bison, Bear, and Backfire.
Fighter planes include Foxbat, Flanker, Fagot, and Felon.

Further, surveillance and utility planes begin with an M: (Moss, Mainstay, Maxdome).
Transport "C": (Cat, Classic, Candid).
Helicopters "H": (Hokum, Halo, Hip, Hind).

Such code names are easier to pronounce than the Russian names, like the 'Belyj Lebeď.
We did the same during WWII, naming the Japanese mainstay fighter plane the "Zeke, or Zero" and their "Betty" bomber for instance.

[ZonkerHarris]

10. Thanks for the pro Russia propaganda. Hard pass.

[JohnnyRingo]

12. To an aviation nut like myself it's not propaganda.

No more than recognizing the virtues of the Messerschmitt Me109 makes someone a Nazi.

The Blackjack Bomber was an interesting bomber project that still holds many records, biggest, heaviest, and fastest among them. Like our own B-1b bomber it was soon rendered obsolete by million dollar cruise missiles.

[MicaelS]

14. It is not propaganda.

Just factual data on the way NATO's ID system works.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. I will take your thoughts under advisement. Thanks.

Source: https://makeameme.org/meme/conspiracy-theory-because