4/5/2023 0 Comments Bomber blastic![]() The Tu-160 was a late Cold War design, the Soviet Union’s answer to America’s B-1 Lancer supersonic strategic bomber. In addition, arming the Tu-160 with hypersonic missiles offers another reason for Russia’s military to continue operating an aircraft with a checkered history. The Kinzhal is designed to penetrate missile defenses and destroy critical theater-level installations such as command centers, though it could also be used as an anti-ship missile.Ī long-range bomber that can potentially carry either slow but long-range cruise missiles, or shorter range but extremely fast ballistic missiles, will complicate Western missile defenses that must prepare to stop multiple threats. That’s important from the perspective of Russia, which has been aggressively developing hypersonic (faster than Mach 5) missiles out of fear that older subsonic or supersonic weapons are vulnerable to being shot down by U.S. ![]() The Kinzhal ballistic missile would appear to have shorter legs than the older cruise missiles, but much greater speed. First, the bomber is already armed with subsonic Kh-55 cruise missiles, with about a 1,600-mile range, and the newer Kh-102, which has an estimated range of more than 3,000 miles. Arming the Tu-160 with Kinzhals is interesting on several levels. ![]()
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