Tupolev Tu-160 (Blackjack)

At the time of it's inception, the Tupolev-produced Tu-160 "Blackjack" was the largest swing-wing bomber ever produced also mounting the most powerful engines to an aircraft platform ever. Developed as a direct counter to the American Rockwell B-1 Lancer strategic bomber, the Tu-160 was designed to fulfill just about the same role through the delivery of large amounts of precision munitions in the form of cruise missiles and other potent air-to-surface types. The system, though fallen mostly to neglect and under-use, has received some attention recently as Russia strives to regain their former military glory. Though looking every bit a direct copy of the B-1 bomber, the Tu-160 is in fact many times larger than her American counterpart – but no less lethal.

The Tu-160 was fitted with four powerful Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines with each being capable of delivering over 55,115lbs of thrust. Engines were similarly mounted to the underside of the fuselage as found on the B-1 bomber design. The mammoth fuselage is very reminiscent of the Rockwell design right down to the shape and single large rudder. As with the B-1 bomber, the Tu-160 features a large-swing wing assembly that allows the aircraft to see speeds in excess of Mach 2 at altitude thanks in part to the variable geometry air inlets.

Crew accommodations amount to four personnel. Each crewmember is seating in individual ejection seats as opposed to a crew-ejection capsule once featured into the B-1 bomber design. Flight controls remain somewhat state-of-the-art and allow for some pilot error. Inflight refueling is a capability built into the Tu-160 airframe. Due to the fuel capacity of the Tu-160, the sheer size of the system and the collapse of the Soviet military, the system was not been fielded actively for quite some time. It is also reported that the Tu-160 exhibits some flight control problems and the series has shown to require an excessive amount of maintenance to keep her flying in tip top shape.

Though development of the B-1 Lancer was stopped for a time in America, development of the Tu-160 continued until production resulted in about 30 such examples - with roughly 19 of these residing in Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union. Eight of these were later transferred back to Russian hands in an agreement at the beginning of the year 2000. It is reported that Ukraine sold up to three non-military examples to the United States as satellite launching platforms. There does, however, exist a non-militarized Tu-160 in the form of the Tu-160SK commercial variant.

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