Tu-160: the Soviet Response to the United States’ B-1B Lancer Bomber – Though the Soviet-designed Tupelov Tu-160 shares some superficial outward similarities with the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, the Tu-160 performs a fundamentally different mission as a supersonic bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
Meet the T-160 Bomber
Russia’s Tu-160 bomber is, at first blush, rather similar to the US Air Force’s B-1B Lancer bomber. Both aircraft incorporate variable-swept wings and combine relatively long range with a high payload capacity. The bomber holds an important distinction: the four Kuznetsov NK-32 engines that propel the airframe are the most powerful jet engines ever fitted to a military aircraft. Each produces 55,000 pounds of thrust with the afterburner engaged.
The Tu-160 holds two other distinctions: it was the last strategic bomber designed for the Soviet Air Force and the last Soviet bomber designed without defensive weapons. It was also the first Soviet bomber to lack defensive weapons after the end of the Second World War.
Ultimately, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union harmed the Tu-160. The resultant turmoil within the newly declared countries that made up the Soviet Union and Russia itself significantly curtailed the Tu-160’s roll-out: only around 40 of the strategic bombers were ultimately produced.
B-1B Lancer Bomber
Outwardly, the Tu-160 is not dissimilar from the US Air Force B-1B bomber. Both aircraft have a similar fuselage shape and variable-sweep wings, allowing for optimized performance at high—and low-speed flights at various altitudes. However, the aircraft play very different roles within their respective air forces.
Though initially conceived as a low-level, high-speed platform for delivering nuclear weapons under Soviet radar, the American B-1B ultimately saw a reduction in performance and had a lower top speed than its Soviet-turned-Russian counterpart.
Following the 1994 Nuclear Posture Review, the United States moved to B-1B to perform a conventional-only role, eliminating that aircraft’s ability to deliver nuclear weapons by removing the hardware and software needed for nuclear payload, leaving the bomber denuclearized.
The Tu-160, in contrast, retains its nuclear weapon delivery capacity (in addition to conventional munitions), serving in the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Long Range Aviation branch as a stand-off weapon platform, albeit with a high Mach 2-plus top speed.
The Tu-160’s nuclear mission is also apparent in the paint scheme: so-called anti-flash white. The brilliant white color would reflect the intense flash of a nuclear explosion, offering more protection to both the bomber and crew than a darker paint scheme. The B-1B, by contrast, sports a darker, camouflaged paint scheme.
Service in the Ukrainian SSR
In a twist of irony, the Ukrainian SSR was the first of the Soviet republics to receive the Tu-160 in 1987, late in the Cold War. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the declaration of Ukrainian independence, the newly created country had a fleet of 19 Tu-160s.
But thanks to a lack of spare parts and maintenance staff, the fleet was essentially grounded — combat-ineffective. Still, Kyiv saw them as a valuable bargaining chip in discussions with their looming Russian neighbor.
Though Ukraine offered the strategic jets to Russia in exchange for cash, the Russians declined the offer as exorbitant. Ukraine decided to scrap the Tu-160 fleet as part of the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program.
This initiative collected and scrapped nuclear weapons and associated infrastructure of the former Soviet Union that had been distributed across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Kremlin’s Wars
The Tu-160 had found new usefulness as a fast, long-range stand-off weapons carrier supporting the Russian ground offensive in Ukraine. Strapped with satellite navigation and pop-out wings, large, dumb, or free-fall bombs could be deployed by Russian bombers many miles behind the front line and strike important points along the front.
Some larger munitions tipped the scales at 1,500 kilograms or over 3,300 pounds. At one point, these munitions’ success was credited for “changing the face of the war in Ukraine.”
More recently, however, the front line in Ukraine has become saturated with electronic warfare elements, cutting off reliable satellite signals and adversely affecting accuracy. WarTranslated, an Estonian analyst on X, translated recent posts from Fighterbomber, a widely-read but unofficial Telegram channel that covers the Russian Air Force.
“Russian pilot “Fighterbomber,” says that the effectiveness of Russian guide bombs fell off a cliff recently due to widespread EW interference on both sides and that Ukrainian countermeasures have rendered satellite-guided corrections useless,” WarTranslated explains. “He says bombs often miss their targets now, but the problem was swept under the rug as it often happens in Russia to continue positive reports.”
So, while the usefulness of the Tu-160’s glide bomb attacks has decreased, the fleet itself is not safe from Ukrainian attacks. Last month, Ukrainian long-range drones struck Russia’s Engels-2 air base, an air force base from which Moscow’s forces have launched glide bomb attacks against Ukraine. Though unclear how many aircraft were damaged or destroyed and to what extent, the strike underscored the danger to Russian aircraft, even within Russia.
Tu-160: What Happens Now?
Though the bomber’s production run was a victim of the end of Cold War hostilities, the jet nonetheless retains its original design intention as a high-speed, nuclear-capable strategic bomber.
Thanks to several modernization programs, it will likely remain in Russian service for many years yet to come.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
