The Tu-160 Blackjack has proven to be perhaps the most important asset in Russia’s war against Ukraine so far at least because even when underperformance was everywhere visible in the Russian military, the Blackjack stood out as able to deliver precisely the sort of heavy, distance-onset damage that the Ukrainian air-defense system could not reach.
It can carry almost 100,000 lbs of munition with cruise missiles and nuclear weapons. Tu-160 has been powered with stealth features and advanced engines along with electronic warfare systems. It has been modified into a very lethal tool of Russia’s army that can execute the deadliest and strategic strikes.
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack was designed in the 1970s and entered service in 1987. It still forms the staple of Russia’s strategic bombing capability. The aircraft uses four Samara NK-32 turbofan engines, producing up to 55,000 lbs with afterburner, and amounts to 220,000 lbs force and a top speed greater than Mach 2.
Such an excellent speed with an operational range of 7,500 miles extended by mid-air refueling puts the Tu-160 into a very exclusive group of fast and versatile bombers worldwide.
Even though only about 20 Tu-160 strategic bombers are currently available with the Russian Aerospace Forces, such machines are enough to fulfill the needs of the Russian military. The aircraft can carry both conventional and nuclear munitions, in addition.
According to some sources, up to 12 Raduga Kh-55 cruise missiles or 12 AS-16 Kickback short-range nuclear weapons are carried by this aircraft, which makes it particularly deadly in the war in Ukraine. Fitted with modern air defense and air combat capabilities, flying at high altitudes and hundreds of miles outside the range of Ukrainian air defenses, Tu-160 Blackjacks have managed to target and strike Ukrainian urban centers and critical infrastructure, greatly damaging everything they strike.
In the last few years, the Russian military has been modernizing its Tu-160 fleet to prepare it for equipping itself with the most modern air defense and air combat capabilities. Russian aerospace engineers have focused on countermeasures against modern threats in the air.
Some of these modernization programs involve low observable coating, which lowers their radar signatures, with an appearance that infers stealth. Other modernization designs feature more power engines, new ones that provide better performance and operational capabilities, and a modern cockpit, new electronic countermeasures in warfare, and communication systems.
One such recent example was Russian President Vladimir Putin flying on a modernized Tu-160M as part of his trip to Tatarstan earlier this year. This mission, widely regarded as a political photo op for the presidential election campaign, demonstrated the plane’s sophisticated capabilities.
The same plane, however, failed later on and sent all concerns about the reliability of Russia’s nuclear triad down in flames. A fire in one of its engines destroyed the other three engines and the plane. Fortunately, no one died.
A legend among pilots, who call it the “White Swan,” the Tu-160 has a storied past. It was designed in the 1970s and made its maiden flight in 1981-the aircraft was to blow away at high-priority targets with nuclear and conventional weapons. Since 2018, Russia has been gearing up for the upgraded version: Tu-160M. The prototype took the air in 2022.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect, however, is that Ukraine received 19 Tu-160 bombers after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Yet, because of problems in maintaining these planes and political decisions, Ukraine scrapped 10 for scrap and returned 8 to Russia as “payment for gas debts.” Those planes are now used against Ukraine, where military history sometimes twists in strange and complicated ways.
Now, the Russian Aerospace Forces have 16 Tu-160 aircraft and only 6 will be updated. Ambitious plans to make 30 Tu-160M airplanes fail to convince experts of the possibility of realizing these plans. The aircraft are based in the 121st Guards Aviation Regiment in Engels. Additionally, Ukraine has already succeeded in attacking this airfield; therefore, Russia was forced to pull its bombers to even more remote airfields.
Therefore, the role of the Tu-160 in the military strategy of Russia is multifaceted. Fundamentally, this aircraft was designed against NATO and the United States, but now it is used against Ukraine. However, the value of these bombers in strategic terms is explained by the need to preserve them for an expected future confrontation with NATO.
Consequently, the analysis of Tu-160 Blackjack allows us to conclude that this is still an essential part of the military strategy of Russia, which reveals the strengths and weaknesses of its aerospace capabilities.