Russia’s fleet of rusty strategic bombers has seen better days. For one, they haven’t seen significant upgrades in decades. For two, the fleet is less than half the size of America’s combined force of conventional B-52s, B-1Bs and B-2 stealth bombers. And with plans by the U.S. to build a stealthy new bomber augmented by a plethora of new drones, Russia risks not only being left behind, but being put out to pasture. There is also NATO’s deployment of missile interceptors in Europe for Russia to worry about.
Enter Russia’s boss for life — and newly re-coronated president — Vladimir Putin. During a defense budget meeting Thursday after visiting a base in southern Russia, Putin said he’s serious about developing a new stealthy bomber, the PAK-DA. And if development does not start soon, Russia might be left behind, Putin warned, according to news agency RIA Novosti/.../
There are questions whether Russia (or the US, for that matter) even needs an expensive new bomber.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Russia doesn’t need one. “Look at the level of development of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defences: all these planes will never get near their targets,” he said to Russian newspaper Izvestia. That conclusion was mirrored last year by Barry Watts, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, who argued in a report that advances in radar may “in the near future, obviate the ability of all-aspect, low observable aircraft” from bombers — possibly including the Air Force’s planned $55 billion stealth bomber.