Everything about Strategic Bombers totally explained
A
strategic bomber is a large
aircraft designed to drop large amounts of
ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are built to fly into an enemy's heartland to destroy strategic targets for example major military installations, factories and cities. In addition to
strategic bombing, strategic bombers can be used for
tactical missions.
First and Second World Wars
At the start of the Second World War, most strategic bombing was carried out by
medium bombers, typically twin-engined with several gun positions. Bigger two and four-engined designs were being developed and these came to replace the medium bomber designs.
By the end of the
Second World War, the
heavy bomber was the aircraft usually used for bombing the enemies cities and infrastructure.
Cold war and later
During the
Cold War the U.S. and
United Kingdom on one side and the
USSR on the other kept nuclear-armed strategic bombers ready to launch at a moment's notice as part of the
deterrent strategy of
Mutual Assured Destruction. Most strategic bombers of the two
superpowers were designed to deliver
nuclear weapons. For a time,
B-52 Stratofortress bombers were kept in the air around the clock, orbiting
fail-safe points near the Soviet border.
The
RAF's
V-bombers were directed against targets in European Russia and would have been able to reach and destroy cities like Kiev or Moscow before US bombers.
More recent strategic bombers like the Rockwell International (now
Boeing)
B-1B Lancer bomber,
Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and the
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber incorporate
stealth features in their design in an effort to avoid detection. Non-stealthy strategic bombers, for example, the venerable Boeing
B-52 Stratofortress or the equally venerable Tupolev
Tu-95 are still relevant through the use of air-launched
cruise missiles and other "
stand-off" weapons like
JSOW and
JDAM.
Indeed, it's likely that the USAF B-52 fleet will, with continuing upgrades, outlive the B-1B fleet. However, the USAF has recently launched a program for a new strategic bomber to complement the current fleet; it's likely that this bomber will also serve as a replacement for both the B-52 and B-1. In the case of the Russian VVS (Air Forces), no new strategic aircraft will likely enter service in the next 20 or so years and the current Tu-95, Tu-142, Tu-26 and Tu-160 fleet will be periodically updated, as it was seen in the 1990's with the Tu-22M fleet.
During the
Cold War, strategic bombers were almost certainly armed with
nuclear weapons. However, since the end of the Cold War, strategic bombers have exclusively been deployed using non-nuclear, conventional weapons. During
Operation Desert Storm, the
invasion of Afghanistan, and the
2003 invasion of Iraq, American B-52s and B-1s were employed in both strategic and tactical roles. During the 1979-1988
Soviet-Afghan war, many Tu-95 carried out several mass bombings on several regions of the country.
Notable strategic bombers
These were the bombers used in the main or that represented a shift in heavy bomber design.
With (Maximum bomb load).
In practice, the bomb load carried was dependant on factors such as the distance to target and the type or size of the bombs used.
Avro Lancaster (22,000 lb)
B-17 Flying Fortress (17,417 lb)
B-24 Liberator (8,000 lb)
B-29 Superfortress (20,000 lb)
Handley Page Halifax (13,000 lb)
Heinkel He 111 (4,400 lb)
Petlyakov Pe-8 (11,000 lb)
Short Stirling (18,000 lb)
He 177 (15,873 lb)
Bombload can include nuclear armed missiles as well as conventional bombs
Avro Vulcan (21,000 lb)
B-36 Peacemaker (72,000 lb)
B-47 Stratojet
B-50 Superfortress
B-52 Stratofortress (60,000 lb)
B-58 Hustler (19,450 lb)
Dassault Mirage IV (3,000 lb)
FB-111A nuclear capable variant of F-111 'Aardvark'
Handley Page Victor
Myasishchev M-4 (52,910 lb)
Tupolev Tu-4, unlicensed copy of B-29 Superfortress
Tupolev Tu-16 (20,000 lb)
Tupolev Tu-95 (33,000 lb)
Tupolev Tu-22M
Vickers Valiant
Xian H-6 (Licenced copy of Tupolev Tu-16)
Post Cold War
B-1 Lancer (75,000 lb)
B-2 Spirit (50,000 lb)
Tupolev Tu-22M (46,300 lb)
Tupolev Tu-160
Xian H-6 (Licenced copy of Tupolev Tu-16)
Future
A future USAF bomber to at least complement the current fleet (and likely to supplant a portion or all of the B-52 or even B-1 fleet); a deployment time frame goal of 2018 has been established.Further Information
Get more info on 'Strategic Bombers'.
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