Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Type of heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance}} [[File:B-1B B-2 and B-52.jpg|thumb|right|Contemporary [[U.S. Air Force]] strategic bombers, top to bottom: the [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 Stratofortress]], [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1 Lancer]] and [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2 Spirit]].]] A '''strategic bomber''' is a medium to long range [[Penetrator (aircraft)|penetration]] [[bomber]] [[aircraft]] designed to drop large amounts of [[air-to-ground weaponry]] onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the [[enemy]]'s capacity to wage [[war]]. Unlike [[tactical bombing|tactical bomber]]s, [[Penetrator (aircraft)|penetrator]]s, [[fighter-bomber]]s, and [[attack aircraft]], which are used in [[air interdiction]] operations to attack [[enemy]] [[combatant]]s and [[Military technology|military equipment]], strategic bombers are designed to fly into enemy territory to destroy [[Strategic goal (military)|strategic targets]] (e.g., [[infrastructure]], [[logistics]], [[Military base|military installations]], [[Factory|factories]], and [[City|cities]]). In addition to [[strategic bombing]], strategic bombers can be used for [[tactical bombing|tactical mission]]s. There are currently three countries that operate strategic bombers: the [[United States]], [[Russia]], and [[China]].<ref>Paul, T. V.; Wirtz, James J.; Fortmann, Michael. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9jy28vBqscQC&pg=PA332 ''Balance of power: theory and practice in the 21st century''], Stanford University Press, 2004, p. 332. {{ISBN|0-8047-5017-3}}</ref> The modern strategic bomber role appeared after [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing was widely employed]], and [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombs were first used in combat]] during [[World War II]]. Nuclear strike missions (i.e., delivering [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]]-armed [[Air-to-surface missile|missile]]s or [[Aerial bomb|bomb]]s) can potentially be carried out by most modern [[fighter-bomber]]s and [[strike fighter]]s, even at intercontinental [[Range (aeronautics)|range]], with the use of '''[[aerial refueling]]''', so any nation possessing this combination of equipment and techniques theoretically has such capability. Primary delivery aircraft for a modern [[strategic bombing]] mission need not always necessarily be a [[heavy bomber]] type, and any modern [[Fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]] capable of nuclear strikes at long range is equally able to carry out [[tactical bombing|tactical missions]] with [[conventional weapon]]s. An example is [[France]]'s [[Dassault Mirage IV|Mirage IV]], a small strategic bomber replaced in service by the [[Air-Sol Moyenne Portée|ASMP]]-equipped [[Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D|Mirage 2000N]] [[fighter-bomber]] and [[Dassault Rafale|Rafale]] [[Multirole combat aircraft|multirole fighter]]. ==History== ===First and Second World Wars=== [[File:Самолет "Илья Муромец".jpg|thumb|right|The [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]] was designed by [[Igor Sikorsky]] as the first ever [[airliner]], but it was turned into a bomber by the [[Imperial Russian Air Force]].]] The first strategic bombing efforts took place during [[World War I]] (1914–18), by the [[Russian Empire|Russia]]ns with their [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]] bomber (the first heavy four-engine aircraft), and by the [[German Empire|German]]s using [[Zeppelin]]s or long-range multi-engine [[Gothaer Waggonfabrik|Gotha]] [[Fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]]. Zeppelins reached [[England]] on bombing raids by 1915, forcing the British to create extensive defense systems including some of the first [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]]s which were often used with searchlights to highlight the enemy machines overhead. Late in the war, [[United States|American]] fliers under the command of Brig. Gen. [[Billy Mitchell]] were developing multi-aircraft "mass" bombing missions behind German lines, although the [[First Armistice at Compiègne|Armistice]] ended full realization of what was being planned. Study of strategic bombing continued in the interwar years. Many books and articles predicted a fearful prospect for any future war, paced by political fears such as those expressed by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Stanley Baldwin]] who told the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] early in the 1930s that "[[the bomber will always get through]]" no matter what defensive systems were undertaken. It was widely believed by the late 1930s that [[Aerial bombing of cities|strategic "terror" bombing of cities]] in any [[war]] would quickly result in devastating losses and might decide a conflict in a matter of days or weeks. But theory far exceeded what most air forces could actually put into the air. Germany focused on short-range tactical bombers. [[Great Britain|Britain]]'s [[Royal Air Force]] began developing four-engine long-range bombers only in the late 1930s. The [[United States Army Air Corps|U.S. Army Air Corps]] ([[United States Army Air Forces|''Army Air Forces'']] as of mid-1941) was severely limited by small budgets in the late 1930s, and only barely saved the '''[[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]]''' bomber that would soon be vital. The equally important '''[[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24]]''' first flew in 1939. Both aircraft would constitute the bulk of the American bomber force that made the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Strategic bombing during World War II#US bombing in Europe|daylight bombing]] of [[Nazi Germany]] possible in 1943–45. At the start of [[World War II]], so-called "strategic" bombing was initially carried out by [[medium bomber]] [[Fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]] which were typically twin-engined, armed with several defensive guns, but only possessed limited [[Aerial bomb|bomb]]-carrying capacity and [[Range (aeronautics)|range]]. Both [[Great Britain|Britain]] and the [[United States|US]] were developing larger two- and four-engined designs, which began to replace or supplement the smaller aircraft by 1941–42. After American entry into the war, late, in 1941, the U.S. [[8th Air Force]] began to develop a [[Strategic bombing during World War II#US bombing in Europe|daylight bombing capacity]] using improved [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17]] and [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24]] four-engine aircraft. In order to assemble the formations to carry out these bombing campaigns, [[assembly ships]] were used to quickly form defensive [[combat box]]es. The [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[Strategic bombing during World War II#The British later in the war|concentrated its efforts on night bombing]]. But neither force was able to develop adequate [[bombsight]]s or tactics to allow for often-bragged "pinpoint" accuracy. The post-war U.S. [[Strategic Bombing Survey]] studies supported the overall notion of strategic bombing, but underlined many of its shortcomings as well. Attempts to create pioneering examples of "[[Precision-guided munition#Radio-controlled weapons|smart bomb]]s" resulted in the [[Azon]] ordnance, deployed in the [[European Theater of Operations United States Army|European Theater]] and [[China Burma India Theater|CBI Theater]] from B-24s. [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-668-7161-31A, Flugzeug Heinkel He 177.jpg|thumb|left|The only operational strategic bomber with the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' in [[World War II]] was the troubled [[Heinkel He 177]].]] Following the untimely death of the top German advocate for strategic bombing, ''General'' [[Walther Wever (general)|Walther Wever]] in early June 1936, the focus of Nazi Germany's [[Luftwaffe]] bomber forces, the so-named ''[[Kampfgeschwader]]'' (bomber wings) became the battlefield support of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] as part of the general [[Blitzkrieg]] form of warfare, carried out with both medium bombers such as the [[Heinkel He 111]], and ''[[Schnellbomber]]s'' such as the [[Junkers Ju 88]]A. ''General'' Wever's support of the [[Ural bomber]] project before WW II's start dwindled after his passing, with the only aircraft design that could closely match the Allied bomber force's own aircraft – the early November 1937-origin [[Heinkel He 177]]A, deployed in its initial form in 1941–42, hampered by a [[Reich Air Ministry|RLM]] requirement for the He 177A to also perform medium-angle [[dive bombing]], not rescinded until September 1942 – unable to perform either function properly, with a powerplant selection and particular powerplant installation design features on the 30-meter wingspan ''Greif'', that led to endless problems with engine fires. The March 1942-origin, trans-Atlantic ranged ''[[Amerika Bomber]]'' program sought to ameliorate the lack of a seriously long-ranged bomber for the ''Luftwaffe'', but resulted with only three [[Messerschmitt Me 264|Messerschmitt]]-built and a pair of [[Junkers Ju 390|Junkers]]-built prototypes ever flown, and no operational "heavy bombers" for strategic use for the Third Reich, outside of the roughly one thousand examples of the He 177 that were built. By the end of the Second World War in 1945, the "heavy" bomber, epitomized by the British [[Avro Lancaster]] and American [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] used in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Theater]], showed what could be accomplished by [[Area Bombardment|area bombing]] of [[Japan]]'s cities and the often small and dispersed factories within them. Under Major General [[Curtis LeMay]], the U.S. [[20th Air Force]], based in the [[Mariana Islands]], undertook low-level [[incendiary bomb]]ing missions, results of which were soon measured in the number of square miles destroyed. The [[air raids on Japan]] had withered the nation's ability to continue fighting, although the Japanese government delayed surrender, resulting the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombs dropped]] on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] in August 1945. ===The Cold War and its aftermath=== During the [[Cold War]], the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]] on one side and the [[Soviet Union]] on the other kept strategic bombers ready to [[takeoff|take off]] on short notice as part of the [[deterrence theory|deterrent]] strategy of [[mutual assured destruction]] (MAD). Most strategic bombers of the two [[superpower]]s were designed to deliver [[nuclear weapon]]s. For a time, some squadrons of [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] bombers were kept in the air around the clock, [[Loiter (aeronautics)|orbit]]ing some distance away from their [[fail-safe]] points near the Soviet border. The [[Great Britain|British]] produced three different types of "[[V bomber]]s" for the [[Royal Air Force]] which were designed and designated to be able to deliver British-made nuclear bombs to targets in European Russia. These bombers would have been able to reach and destroy cities like Kiev or Moscow before American strategic bombers. While they were never used against the Soviet Union or its allies, two types of V bombers, the [[Avro Vulcan]] and the [[Handley Page Victor]] were used in the [[Falklands War]] towards the end of their operational lives. The [[Soviet Union]] produced hundreds of unlicensed, [[Reverse engineering|reverse-engineer]]ed copies of the [[United States|American]] [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]], which the [[Soviet Air Forces]] called the [[Tupolev Tu-4]]. The Soviets later developed the [[Jet aircraft|jet]]-powered [[Tupolev Tu-16]] "Badger". The People's Republic of [[China]] produced a version of [[Tupolev Tu-16]] on license from the [[Soviet Union]] in the 1960s which they named the [[Xian H-6]]; it remains in service today. During the 1960s [[France]] produced its [[Dassault Mirage IV]] nuclear-armed bomber for the [[French Air Force]] as a part of its independent [[nuclear weapon|nuclear]] strike force, the ''[[Force de dissuasion|Force de Frappe]]'', using French-made bombers and [[Intermediate-range ballistic missile|IRBM]]s to deliver French-made [[nuclear weapon]]s. Mirage IVs served until mid-1996 in the bomber role, and to 2005 as a [[reconnaissance aircraft]]. Today the French Republic has limited its strategic armaments to a squadron of four [[Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear-power]]ed [[ballistic missile submarines]], with 16 [[Submarine-launched ballistic missile|SLBM]] tubes apiece. France also maintains an active force of supersonic [[fighter-bomber]]s carrying stand-off [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] [[missile]]s such as the [[Air-Sol Moyenne Portée|ASMP]], with [[Mach number|Mach]] 3 speed and a range of 500 kilometers. These missiles can be delivered by the [[Dassault Aviation|Dassault]] [[Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D|Mirage 2000N]] and [[Dassault Rafale|Rafale]] [[fighter-bomber]]s; the Rafale is also capable of [[Aerial refueling|refueling]] others in flight using a [[Aerial refueling#Probe-and-drogue 2|buddy refueling pod]]. Newer strategic bombers such as the [[Rockwell International]] [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1B Lancer]], the [[Tupolev Tu-160]], and the [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit]] designs incorporate various levels of [[stealth technology]] in an effort to avoid detection, especially by [[radar]] networks. Despite these advances earlier strategic bombers, for example the [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52]] (last produced in 1962) or the [[Tupolev Tu-95]] remain in service and can also deploy the latest air-launched [[cruise missile]]s and other "[[standoff missile|stand-off]]" or [[Precision-guided munition|precision guided weapon]]s such as the [[AGM-158 JASSM|JASSM]] and the [[Joint Direct Attack Munition|JDAM]]. [[File:B1s.jpg|thumb|right|[[United States Air Force|USAF]] [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer]] [[supersonic]], [[Variable-sweep wing|swing wing]] strategic bomber.]] The [[Russian Air Force]]'s new [[Tupolev Tu-160|Tu-160]] strategic bombers are expected to be delivered on a regular basis over the course of 10 to 20 years. In addition, the current [[Tupolev Tu-95|Tu-95]] and Tu-160 bombers will be periodically updated, as was done during the 1990s with the [[Tupolev Tu-22M|Tu-22M]] bombers. Strategic bombers of the [[Cold War]] were primarily armed with [[nuclear weapon]]s. During the post-1940s [[Indochina Wars]], and also since the end of the Cold War, modern bombers originally intended for [[strategic bombing|strategic]] use have been exclusively employed using [[Conventional weapon|non-nuclear]], [[high explosive]] weapons. During the [[Vietnam War]], [[Operation Menu]], [[Operation Freedom Deal]], [[Gulf War]], [[war in Afghanistan (2001–present)|military action in Afghanistan]], and the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], American B-52s and B-1s were mostly employed in [[Tactical bombing|tactical]] roles. During the [[Soviet-Afghan war]] in 1979–88, [[Soviet Air Forces]] Tu-22Ms carried out several [[strategic bombing|mass air raid]]s in various regions of [[Afghanistan]]. ==Notable strategic bombers== ===Nomenclature=== Bombers listed below were used in the main or represented a shift in long-range bomber design (Maximum bomb load). In practice, bomb loads carried are dependent on factors such as the distance to target and the individual type, size or weight of bombs used. [[Nomenclature]] for size classification of aircraft types used in [[strategic bombing]] varies, particularly since the time of World War II due to sequential technological advancements and changes in [[aerial warfare]] strategy and tactics. The [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]], for example was a benchmark aircraft of the [[heavy bomber]] type at end of [[World War II]] due to its size, range and load carrying ability; as the [[Cold War]] began, it became an intercontinental [[Range (aeronautics)|range]] strategic bomber with the development of new techniques, such as [[aerial refueling]] (which also greatly extended the range of other medium- to long-range [[bomber]]s, [[fighter-bomber]]s and [[attack aircraft]]). During the 1950s the U.S. [[Strategic Air Command]] also briefly brought back the outdated term "[[medium bomber]]" to distinguish its [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]]s from somewhat larger contemporary [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] "[[heavy bomber]]s" in bombardment wings; older [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] and [[Boeing B-50 Superfortress|B-50]] [[heavy bomber]]s were also redesignated as "medium" during this period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=385|title=Factsheets : Boeing RB-47H Stratojet|author=|date=12 November 2014|website=archive.org|accessdate=31 March 2018|deadurl=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112165039/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=385|archivedate=12 November 2014|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.8af.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=4632&page=1|title=Eighth Air Force History: U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet|author=|date=|website=af.mil|accessdate=31 March 2018|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221213923/http://www.8af.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=4632&page=1|archivedate=21 February 2013|df=}}</ref><ref>Strategic-Air-Command.com, [http://www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0509bw.htm 509th Composite Group, 509th Bombardment Wing]</ref> [[Strategic Air Command|SAC]]'s [[nomenclature]] here was purely semantic and bureaucratic, however as both the B-47 and B-52 strategic bombers were much larger and had far greater performance and load-carrying ability than any of the World War II-era heavy or medium bombers. Other aircraft such as the twin-[[Jet engine|jet]] [[United States|US]] [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark#FB-111A.2FF-111G|FB-111]], [[Douglas A-3 Skywarrior]] and [[France]]'s [[Dassault Mirage IV]] had nominal warloads of less than {{convert|20000|lb|abbr=on}}, and were significantly smaller in size and gross weight compared with their strategic bomber contemporaries, based on which they might be classified as '''[[medium bomber]]s'''. In the [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] strike role, France would replace its Mirage IVs beginning in the late 1980s with the even smaller, single-engine [[Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D|Mirage 2000N]] [[fighter-bomber]], a further example of advancing technologies and changing tactics in [[military aviation]] and [[Aerospace engineering|aircraft design]]. France's newer twin-engine [[Dassault Rafale]] [[Multirole combat aircraft|multirole fighter]] also has [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] strike capability. ===World War I=== * {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Caproni Ca.1 (1914)|Caproni Ca.1]] * {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Caproni Ca.3]] (1,700 lb) * {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Gotha G.IV]] (1,100 lb) * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Handley Page Type O]] (2,000 lb) * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Handley Page V/1500]] (7,500 lb) * {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Sikorsky Ilya Muromets]] (1,100 lb) * {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Zeppelin Staaken R.VI]] (4,400 lb) * {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Zeppelin]] (about 5,000 lb) ===Interwar/World War II=== * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing YB-9]] (prototype strategic bomber, inspiration for the B-17) * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Martin B-10]] (successors B-17 and B-24 therefore and theoretically the first strategic bomber of the USAAF at that time despite being a medium bomber.) * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] (8,000 lb) (theoretical maximum: 17,410 lb) * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] (8,000 lb) * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] (20,000 lb) * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Consolidated B-32 Dominator]] (20,000 lb) * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Handley Page Halifax]] (13,000 lb)<ref>for the Mark III</ref> * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Avro Lancaster]] (22,000 lb) * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Short Stirling]] (18,000 lb) * {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Farman F.220]] (9,240 lb) * {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Heinkel He 177]] (15,870 lb) * {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Petlyakov Pe-8]] (11,000 lb) * {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Piaggio P.108]] (7,700 lb) ===Cold War=== Weapons loads can include [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]]-armed [[missile]]s as well as [[aerial bomb]]s [[File:Boeing B-52 dropping bombs.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|USAF [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]]]] [[File:Avro Vulcan Bomber RAF.JPEG|thumb|right|upright=0.9|RAF [[Avro Vulcan]]]] [[File:Kremlin Tupolev Tu-160.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Russian Air Force [[Tupolev Tu-160]]]] [[File:Handley Page HP-80 Victor K2, UK - Air Force AN0992882.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Handley Page Victor]]]] *'''[[Reciprocating engine|Reciprocating]]/[[Turboprop|Turbine]] engine''' ** {{flagicon|UK}} [[Avro Lincoln]] (22,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Lockheed P-2 Neptune]] – small number converted as [[Carrier-based aircraft|carrier]]-launched nuclear-armed bombers which would have to ditch/recover at land bases ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-50 Superfortress]] (28,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-4]] – [[Reverse engineering|reverse-engineer]]ed version of B-29 Superfortress ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Convair B-36 Peacemaker]] (72,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-95]] (55,000 lb) *'''[[Jet engine]]''' ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[North American B-45 Tornado]] (22,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]] (25,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Myasishchev M-4]] (52,910 lb) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-16]] (20,000 lb) *** {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xian H-6]] (20,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] (70,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|UK}} [[Vickers Valiant]] (21,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|UK}} [[Avro Vulcan]] (21,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Douglas A-3 Skywarrior]] – nuclear-armed, [[Carrier-based aircraft|carrier]]-based ** {{flagicon|UK}} [[Handley Page Victor]] (35,000 lb) *'''[[Supersonic aircraft|Supersonic]]''' ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Convair B-58 Hustler]] (19,450 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark#FB-111A.2FF-111G|General Dynamics FB-111A]] – strategic bomber version of the [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111]] [[Variable-sweep wing|swing wing]] [[Attack aircraft|strike aircraft]] ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[North American A-5 Vigilante]] – nuclear-armed, [[Carrier-based aircraft|carrier]]-based (only deployed for a brief period in strategic nuclear strike role for which it was originally designed) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-22]] Blinder (20,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|France}} [[Dassault Mirage IV]] (16,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-22M]] Backfire (46,300 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer]] (75,000 lb – use of external hardpoints restricted by [[START I]]) ** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Tupolev Tu-160]] Blackjack (88,200 lb) ** others designed and built which did not enter operational service: *** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Myasishchev M-50]] Bounder *** {{flagicon|USA}} [[North American XB-70 Valkyrie]] *** {{flagicon|USSR}} [[Sukhoi T-4]] Sotka *** {{flagicon|UK}} [[BAC TSR-2]] ===Post Cold War=== [[File:B-2 Spirit original.jpg|thumb|USAF [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit]]]] * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit]] (40,000 lb) ===Future=== * {{flagicon|USA}} [[Northrop Grumman B-21]]. An under-development stealth bomber, with a goal of supplanting a portion or all of the current B-52 and B-1. Planned to be deployed in the 2020s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.physorg.com/news73195391.html|title=New Long-Range Bomber on Horizon For 2018|author=|date=|website=physorg.com|accessdate=31 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-reveals-northrops-b-21-long-range-strike-bombe-422459/|title=USAF reveals Northrop's B-21 long-range strike bomber|author=|date=26 February 2016|website=flightglobal.com|accessdate=31 March 2018}}</ref> * {{flagicon|USA}} [[2037 Bomber]]. A [[Stealth technology|stealth]], supersonic, long-range, heavy-payload, strategic bomber project to replace the [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 Stratofortress]], with a deployment time frame goal of 2037.<ref>Air Force Assoc. Feb. 2007, p. 11.</ref><ref>Tirpak, John A. [http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1999/June%201999/0699bomber.aspx "The Bomber Roadmap"], Air Force Magazine, June 1999.</ref> * {{flagicon|RUS}} [[PAK DA]] * {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xian H-20]] ===List of active strategic bombers=== ** {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xian H-6]] (20,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit]] (40,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Tupolev Tu-22M]] Backfire (46,300 lb) ** {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Tupolev Tu-95]] (55,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] (70,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|USA}} [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer]] (75,000 lb) ** {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Tupolev Tu-160]] Blackjack (88,200 lb) ==See also== * [[Carpet bombing]] * [[High level bombing]] * [[Long Range Strike Bomber program]] * [[Next-Generation Bomber]] * [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit]] * [[Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider]] * [[Strategic bombing]] * [[Tactical bombing]] * [[Tupolev PAK DA]] * [[Xian H-20]] ==References== {{reflist}} * Brown, Michael E. Flying Blind: The Politics of the U.S. Strategic Bomber Program. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992. * Cross, Robin. The Bombers: The Illustrated Story of Offensive Strategy and Tactics in the Twentieth Century. New York: Macmillan, 1987. * Green, William. Famous Bombers of the Second World War. New York: Doubleday, 1959, 1960 (two vols). * Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. New York: Doubleday, 1970. * Haddow, G. W., and Peter M. Grosz The German Giants: The German R-Planes 1914–1918. London: Putnam, 1969 (2nd ed.) * Hastings, Max. Bomber Command. New York: Dial Press, 1979 * Jones, Lloyd S. U.S. Bombers 1926 to 1980s. Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1980 (3rd ed.) * Neillands, Robin. The Bomber War: The Allied Offensive Against Nazi Germany. Woodstock, NY: Overlook, 2001. * Robinson, Douglas H. The Zeppelin in Combat: A History of the German Naval Airship Division, 1912–1918. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1994. * United States Strategic Bombing Survey. Over-all Report (European War). Washington: Government Printing Office, September 30, 1945. {{Military aircraft types (roles)}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Bomber aircraft]] [[Category:Russian inventions]]'