Strategic bomber
Strategic bombers are heavy (mostly long-range) bombers that are designed, among other things, for the transport and use of nuclear weapons . But you can also use conventional bombs and cruise missiles .
The central ability of current strategic bombers is their intercontinental range (over 6,000 km), which enables take-offs directly from their own area without having to relocate the aircraft beforehand. Range and duration of use can be increased by refueling in the air . The aim of the bombers is not to support the battlefield by attacking the opposing armed forces, but to destroy the enemy's hinterland, in particular the production resources, the infrastructure and the military structure. Just a few years after the end of World War II , strategic bombers were the weapon of choice in a future nuclear war . To the second strike capacity even after oneTo maintain the first strike of the enemy, the two superpowers of the Cold War set up strategic bomber units, whereby the bomber units of the USA (at times plus the British ) were always significantly stronger than those of the Soviet Union . At times, US long-range bombers were constantly in the air (see: Chrome Dome ). With the development of ICBMs , the importance of strategic bombers declined more and more. At the same time, their ability to penetrate unhindered into enemy airspace was severely restricted by radar-guided anti - aircraft missiles and interceptors with look-down / shoot-down capabilities.
List of bomber types
Historical types
Aircraft type | Production time | Length in m (from – to) | Span in m (from – to) | Number of items in production (until mid-2008) | country | picture |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Myasishchev M-4 "Bison" | 1951–1963 (approx.) | 48 m | 50 m | 93 | Soviet Union | |
Tupolew Tu-16 "Badger" or "Type 39" | 1953 – mid 1970s | 26 m | 33 m | 1,059 | Russia (former Soviet Union ) | |
Tupolev Tu-22 "Blinder" (before "Beauty") | 1962 – late 1970s | 42 m | 23 m | 311 | Soviet Union | |
Convair B-36D - B-36J Peacemaker | 1947-1954 | 49 m | 70 m | 300 (approx.) | United States | |
Boeing B-47 Stratojet | 1945–1965 (approx.) | 32 m | 35 m | 2,032 | United States | |
Convair B-58 Hustler | 1955-1964 | 29 m | 17 m | 116 | United States | |
Handley Page HP80 Victor | 1952-1963 | 36 m | 34 m | 86 | United Kingdom | |
Vickers 667 Valiant | 1952-1957 | 33 m | 35 m | 107 | United Kingdom | |
Avro 698 Vulcan | 1956-1965 | 30 m | 34 m | 136 | United Kingdom | |
Dassault Mirage IV | 1963-1968 | 24 m | 12 m | 62 | France |
Current types
Surname | Production time | Length in meters | Span in meters | Number of pieces up to 2008 | Number of pieces at the end of 2020 | country | picture |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tupolev Tu-22M "Backfire" | 1972–1987 (approx.) | 42 m | 34/23 m | 497 | 66 | Russia (former Soviet Union ) | |
Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" | 1956-1993 | 47 m | 50 m | 500+ | 42 | Russia (former Soviet Union ) | |
Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" | 1980s– | 54 m | 55/35 m | 35 | 16 (another 50 planned) | Russia (former Soviet Union ) | |
Xian H-6 / Hong-6 (variant of Tu-16) | 1968– | 35 m | 33 m | 150+ | 150 | People's Republic of China | |
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress | 1952-1962 | 46-47 m | 56 m | 744 | 74 | United States | |
Boeing Rockwell B-1B Lancer | 1970–1988 (approx.) | 44 m | 41/23 m | 104 | 59 | United States | |
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber" ( stealth bomber ) | 1988-1997 | 21 m | 52 m | 21 | 19th | United States |
In planning
Surname | Type | Commissioning | planned number of pieces | country | picture |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tupolev PAK-DA | Stealth bombers | 2025-2030 | - | Russia | |
Xian H-20 | Stealth bombers | 2025 | - | People's Republic of China | |
Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider | Stealth bombers | 2025 | 100 | United States |
Media reception
In the film Dr. Strange or: How I learned to love the bomb , it's about the looming world war that threatens to break out after a mad general orders several US strategic bombers to attack the Soviet Union.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The length and span dimensions are rounded to the nearest meter in order to keep the table clear. Different sizes for variants of one type: xy m, for swing-wing aircraft : maximum / minimum size.
- ↑ a b Overview in: Flight International : World Airliners, Oct. 21-27, 2008, pp. 31–43 and Oct. 28 - Nov. 3, 2008, pp. 51–63. (All aircraft produced up to mid-2008 and all aircraft still in service, including temporarily decommissioned examples.)
- ↑ Overview in: Flight International : World Air Forces, November 11th - 17th, 2008, pp. 48–76 ( introduction and list as PDF with an English-language overview of all types of aircraft used in the air force)
- ↑ a b World Air Force 2021. flightglobal.com, accessed March 17, 2021 .
- ↑ Gernot Kramper: PAK-DA - Putin's stealth bomber is supposed to break through the air defenses of the West. Stern, February 21, 2020, accessed March 17, 2021 .
- ↑ Beijing's B-2? China's Xian H-20 Stealth Bomber Is Coming. The National Interest, November 14, 2020, accessed March 17, 2021 .