Modern Heavy Bomber News, Pictures Thread (Non-Chinese)

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Some recent nice videos about the B-52H

AGM-86 ALCM laucher for B-52H and
AGM-86 variant C/D are the more powerful LACM in service warhead of 1000/1500 kg usualy LACM have 400/500 kg, 2/3 times heavier, 1100 km range.
AGM-86B 150 kt, 2400+ km.
B-52H can carry 20, 8 in the weapons bay on this Rotary Launcher and 6 on each external hard points.

And a nice load :)

 
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Russian strategic-bomber upgrade indicates new cruise-missile deployment

Although lately British focus has been on occasional pictures of the Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bomber (NATO reporting name: Bear) in the UK flight-information region, an arguably more significant image of the Bear flying over Russia has recently also appeared.

The aircraft has been photographed fitted with four sets of large-weapon pylons between the engine nacelles. The pylon design is not new, and has been seen on Tu-95MS test aircraft for nearly two decades. What is different, however, is that the Bear pictured – ‘Red 10’ – does not appear to be a test aircraft but rather most likely an upgraded airframe from a frontline unit. The image is stated to have been taken at Engels, the main base for the Russian air force's long-range aviation fleet. Previous images of test aircraft used in the programme to develop a cruise-missile capability on the Bear, including ‘Red 317’, were either from the Zhukovsky flight-test research centre on the outskirts of Moscow or taken at the air force’s test centre in Akhtubinsk in southern Russia.
RU.jpg



The pylons in question are associated with the Raduga Kh-101/102 dual-capable long-range cruise missiles. Though circumstantial, this is an indicator that this family of weapons may finally, after near three decades of development, now be in service in frontline units.

The Kh-101/102 are designed to replace variants of the Raduga Kh-55 cruise missile. The Kh-102 has been developed to replace the Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) as the air force's primary nuclear weapon. The Kh-101, meanwhile, is a variant of the missile that is fitted with a conventional payload. This is a likely replacement for the Kh-555, developed to provide a conventional stand-off land-attack capability. The Kh-555 is based on the air force’s nuclear Kh-55SM cruise missile, with the nuclear package replaced and an improved guidance system. Claimed ranges for the Kh-101/Kh-102 vary from 2,700km to 5,000km.

Unlike the Kh-55, the Kh-101/102 is thought to be too large to fit into the Bear's internal weapons bay on a rotary launcher, with the aircraft therefore limited to carrying the large cruise missile externally. Test aircraft have been seen being used to carry eight size-and-weight-representative mock-ups of the missile with two on each of the four twin pylons. The missile will also form a key element in the inventory of the Tu-160 Blackjack bomber; in the case of the Blackjack, the weapon can be carried internally on rotary launchers. Tu-95 and Tu-160 units are based at Engels.

Work on the replacement for the Kh-55 began likely in the late 1980s, with test rounds of the Kh-101/102 design available by the latter half of the 1990s. One option pursued for the original design was the use of an unducted prop-fan engine. This approach, however, was dropped in favour of a conventional turbofan engine, likely as the result of development issues with the propulsion unit. The Kh-101/102 programme has also been hampered by inadequate funding at various points in its development, reflecting wider problems with defence R&D and procurement in Russia during the 1990s and the early part of this century.

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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
thanks!
i'm, particularly interested in the Tu-22M3s loadout.
the idea of the Kh-22/32s did seem a bit much.
Tu-22M3s don't carry the Kh-31; too short of a range!
that's why I added my thoughts about the Kh-15 and Kh-59. The Tu-22M3s can carry 10 Kh-15s, but, as far as Wikipedia is concerned, there is no simple ground attack variant.
As for the base, the Russians should consider building a combined naval and air base at Makhachkala View attachment 21887, on the Caspian, maybe based upon
Uytash Airport
.

Your welcome and curious :)

Tu-22M/3

-Payload max 24 t.

-Combat radius 2400 km. (is not a Strategic Bomber in fact, a medium)

-10 KH-15, 6 internaly and 4 on hard points (only nuclear) normaly don' use KH-555 .

Or. 3 AS-4

Or. bombs 8 x1500 kg or 69 x 250 kg or 12 mines.

And a 23mm gun
 
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Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Well, it's l,ong since out of service...but my 1/72 scale model of the B-36 is coming along nicely.

That is one big Momma!

b36-105.jpg
 
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Scratch

Captain
B-52s are getting a new rotary launcher for smart stand-off weapons from the internal weapons bay. This way they will be able to employ JASSM-ER & MALD-J ordnance to be relevant for modern conflicts again.

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Boeing B-52 evolves again with guided weapons launcher
  • 15 January, 2016
  • BY: James Drew
  • Washington DC
On 16 January 1991, seven Boeing B-52Gs fully loaded with AGM-86C conventional air-launched cruise missiles took flight from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana on a top-secret mission to destroy targets inside Iraq.

[...]

Now, 25 years on, Boeing has delivered six modified rotary launchers that will again revolutionise how the veteran B-52 strategic bomber is used in combat.

Until now, the slightly newer 1960s H-model aircraft has been unable to drop conventional, precision-guided weapons from its belly. The new digital rotary launcher changes that, by allowing each B-52 to carry eight Boeing-made joint direct attack munitions internally, and eventual extended-range joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSM-ERs) built by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon miniature air-launched decoys.

This means that the B-52 can now carry smart weapons on its wings, and internally – either increasing its destructive power or reducing fuel consumption on long flights by housing weapons internally to reduce drag.

That potent combination of MALD and JASSM-ERs makes the non-stealthy “Stratofortress” a flexible, fist-day-of-war combat aircraft that can destroy targets from hundreds of kilometres away and provide decoy support for flocks of front-line fighter jets. Those six launchers can be swapped between the B-52 fleet.

The upgrade comes as the air force tried to keep its remaining 76 H-model B-52s combat-relevant through 2040 as the classified Northrop Grumman long-range strike bomber (LRS-B) enters service.

The Stratofortress has long been considered a flying bomb truck, capable of hauling 31.5t (70,000lbs) of ordnance, but its guided weapons capabilities have often lagged more modern airframes.

Last week, the aircraft was sent on a deterrence mission to South Korea as a warning to its northern neighbour, after Pyongyang detonated a nuclear bomb. Going forward, the B-52 will probably feature in more conventional confrontations.

“The upgrades to the B-52 bomber’s internal weapons bay have made it possible to have zero gap on the bomber’s long-range bombing capabilities as we transfer from conventional air-launched cruise missiles to JASSM-ER,” says air force B-52 programme director Col Tim Dickinson.

“With this added capability, the B-52 bomber will remain relevant for decades to come,” adds Boeing B-52 internal weapons bay upgrade manager Jeff Lupton.

Carrying more MALD decoys creates a whole new role for the B-52, because those weapons are designed to replicate the flight path and radar signature of American combat jets to distract air defence systems. The newer version, designated MALD-J, can switch to jamming mode to suppress those same air defences, using a closely-guarded electronic warfare payload.
 

Scratch

Captain
Excellent news. Gotta keep 'em up to date and relevant.

Heck, by 2040, they will have been flying over 80 years!

If only this reengine issue could take off in the future. I think that would be another big boost, with 4 modern, low-bypass, turbofans instead of those old 8 turbojets, I'm certain they could squeeze yet another several hundred miles from that Stratofortress.
Maybe it can reach 100 years.

Might as well get my model pictures of this beautiful beastie on here too!

I understand you have a B-52H model awaiting construction as well? Already anxious to see that, and especially what load-out it will carry.
 
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