Bombers are the only weapon to cooperate with ground forces to attack fortified positions, and can carry out large-scale firepower strikes on places that are difficult for artillery to reach with extremely high efficiency, so they have always been a military force that major military powers can develop if they have the ability.
In the development of bombers in various countries for many years, there are naturally some gaps, so the American media "Military Watch" once collected the performance of the bombers in service in various countries and ranked them, and listed the "world's top five bombers".
bomber
The only bomber in mass production
In fifth place is the Chinese H-6N bomber.
The H-6 series is an evergreen tree in the bomber industry, it was originally a bomber imitated from the Soviet Tu-16 medium bomber for localization, from 1969 the H-6 began to be put into service to today, this bomber has been in service for more than half a century.
Since then, China has been refining it to make it capable of carrying out bombing missions in modern warfare, and the H-6 will continue to serve in the 21st century.
轰-6
Although the H-6N is ranked 5th on this list, it is the only bomber on the list that is still in mass production.
With the end of the Cold War, both the United States and Russia have stopped the production of bombers, and only China retains the production line of the H-6.
As a result, China now has the world's largest bomber fleet of more than 230 aircraft, and continues to grow.
Of course, China has been producing the H-6 because China does not have a second bomber, and this is the situation of China's national defense development.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union had a need for overseas operations during the Cold War, and the Soviet Union thought about when to bomb the European continent and even the United States, and the United States carried out a series of strikes on the Middle East after the Cold War, which also proved its need for bombers.
carpet bombing
But China does not have this need, and China does not have the need to fight overseas in the Cold War or even in modern times, so bombers are not considered to fight overseas.
If the bomber does not fight overseas, the demand for its performance in all aspects is not high. As a result, the H-6, a medium-sized bomber based on the Tu-16, can be put into service until the 21st century and is still in production.
However, as China's overseas interests have increased over the years and its international influence has increased, the mainland has gradually become more likely to conduct military operations overseas.
When China has the same military needs for overseas operations as the United States and the Soviet Union, China also needs to have the same equipment as the United States and the Soviet Union.
So over the years, we have often heard about the H-20.
Concept art of the H-20
The H-20 is an example of a heavy bomber that can strike at long distances or even across continents.
When China's H-20 enters service, China will also have the ability to interfere on the other side of the planet.
Tu-95MS bomber and B-52 bomber
In third and fourth place are the Russian Tu-95MS bomber and the American B-52 bomber, respectively.
The Tu-95 is a bomber that entered service in the 50s of the last century and was one of the main nuclear throwing platforms of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Tu-95 bomber
From the beginning of service with this bomber until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, about 500 bombers were produced in this series, and about 300 were in service on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, because the Tu-95 series bombers were durable, easy to maintain, and so Russia retired the Tu-95 bombers very slowly, and by 1993 there were about 230 in service.
Today, more than 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are still about 60 Tu-95MS bombers in service.
The American B-52 bomber is a contemporary bomber of the Russian Tu-95 series.
B-52 bomber
However, the B-52 project was established much earlier than the Tu-95, and in June 1945, before the end of World War II, the United States considered the cruelty of fighting with Japan, and established this heavy bomber for use in the war against Japan.
However, just a few months after the B-52 bomber project was established, Japan surrendered, and it is a pity that this bomber did not participate in World War II.
To this day, the B-52 is still the most important air force of the United States due to its cheapness, durability, and heavy load.
As of 2023, the United States still has about 70 B-52 bombers in service. And looking at the posture of the US Air Force, this bomber is very likely to be in service until after 2050.
B-52 fleet
B-2 bomber and Tu-160 bomber
In second and first place are the American B-2 bombers and the Russian Tu-160 bombers, respectively.
The B-2 bomber is currently the only stealth bomber in service with mankind, and it is the absolute "elite" of the US Air Force.
It was born at a time when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was in full swing, so the B-2 attached great importance to its penetration capability in terms of design positioning, so it had its powerful stealth capability.
B-2 bomber
In order to achieve greater stealth capabilities, the B-2 sacrificed a lot in other aspects of performance.
The main "sacrifices" are its load and speed. As a heavy bomber, the maximum load of the B-2 is only more than 20 tons, which is far inferior to the Russian Tu-160 bomber.
In terms of speed, because of the peculiar aerodynamic layout of the B-2, its maximum speed also did not reach Mach 1, which is far worse than the Tu-160's speed of more than Mach 2.
As a result, as the clouds of nuclear war drift away from humanity and the development of military concepts, the popularity of the B-2 in the US military has continued to decline.
Coupled with its scarcity and high cost of use, the use rate of the B-2 bomber is not as good as that of the B-52 bomber and the B-1B bomber.
B-2 bomber
Russia's Tu-160 bomber, nicknamed the "White Swan", is a legacy left to Russia by the Soviet Union.
The biggest flaw of this bomber was its small production number. When the Soviet Union established the production line of the Tu-160 and began to produce this bomber, the Soviet Union collapsed.
Therefore, when Russia took over the Tu-160, the total number of this bomber production did not exceed 30, and the vast majority of them were still on the Ukrainian side.
However, as Russia later retrieved the design drawings of the Tu-160, Russia subsequently restored the production capacity of the Tu-160.
After several years of tinkering, by 2024, the first batch of reproduced Tu-160s in Russia is also close to rolling off the assembly line. So after a while, the Russian Tu-160 may also become a bomber in mass production.
Tu-160 bomber
Of course, in the future, there will be not only Tu-160 bombers with this "honor", but also China's H-20 and American B-21 bombers, all of which are in full swing. Soon, China and the United States will similarly increase the production line of bombers.
Resources:
[1] Xinhuanet, "Russia's new Tu-160 "Corsair Flag" bomber will restart mass production
[2] Observer.com, "Weekly Military Review: What kind of H-20 do we need?"