Indian Air Force 🇮🇳 Will Soon Be Acquiring The Tupolev TU-160 "Blackjack" bomber From Russia

[Catalystic]

Waiting fir india to actually use the equipment they buy……kabhi lao rafale iss tarf bhi…..chai fantastic ha!

 

[Trailer23]

I request members not to start threads with such titles, unless there is an official source to back it up.

I second that thought.

Lets wait till IAF or the MoD release an official statement, and only then should such a conversation continue. In the mean time, its just a an article written by a hack.

 

[Beast]

I think it is possible with closer ties between two countries, even Indonesia in 1960's under Soekarno regime can get Russian most advance bomber at that time

View attachment 868812

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5418462030149592/

We have around 26 Tupolev Tu16 bombers in 1960's

List of equipment of the Indonesian Air Force - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You do realize Russia place China even higher than India when comes to their strategic partnership.

 

[Splurgenxs]

You do realize Russia place China even higher than India when comes to their strategic partnership.

Ah yes of course , I thought Russia was China's vassal , as per Chinese claims.
I think China secretly wants Russia to sell Oil and weapons to India.

 

[SABRE]

To begin with - and assuming that the reports of the acquisition are true - the Tu-160 for India would be a political instrument for global power projection. The DRDO, Indian policy planners, and strategic analysts, such as Bharat Karnad, have long held a skewed belief that mimicking the weapons acquisitions of the global powers could place them in their league. If the US, USSR/Russia, and China have strategic bombers than so should India. Similarly, if these powerful states have ICBMs then so should India, even if it exceeds India's minimum deterrence requirements, which it does. In this sense, some of India's strategic weapons acquisitions are driven more by factors such as nationalism and prestige incentive than by any military requirement. For the politicians it also helps muster domestic electoral support.

But does the Tu-160 hold any operational military significance in the region? IMO, not as far as Pakistan-India calculus is concerned. Almost all of IAF's air assets have ability to cover entire Pakistan. However, a fast flying asset would be more reliable against Pakistan/PAF than a large and a relatively slow flying asset. Against China, however, it may hold some relevance and could prove crucial in deep penetration strike, provided IAF is able to allot it a significant air support. There is, however, no guarantee of successful penetration by Tu-160 of China's airspace let alone carrying out a successful strategic strike on major Chinese countervalue targets, such as economically well off urban centres located further East. Targeting counterforce assets located near the Sino-India border do not require deploying and employing Tu-160, much as in the case of Pakistan ... IMO.

 

[ziaulislam]

How would this work in the Indo Pak scenario, when both sides posses long range SAMs and are also right next to each other?

Or even the sino indo scenario?

It wont..its usefull against maladives

 

[Trailer23]

Pakistan is one unique country that does nothing but still get aids & help from the world powers who ensure that this country does not default or disintegrate. There are 2 reasons for this:
1. World powers encash on Pak's hatred for India & try to contain India in the region (1/2)
2. World military powers want to keep the arms market in S.Asian region up & kicking. For that to happen, this region should remain a conflict region. This is only possible if pak is alive.
India has answers to both these two points mentioned by me & the world will witness soon
Pak feels it missed d IT train & is jealous of Indian IT exports. So when India decided to go 4 semiconductor manufacturing, it doesn't want to miss the train this time but it forgets it requires deep pockets, tech manpower & manufacturing base. Of the 3 dept, Designing,mfg, packaging India is already a recognised chip designer-exporter and has put initial USD 10 Billions ( which is pea nuts) aside for promotion
Pakistan has neither deep pockets, tech manpower or manufacturing base so it is day dreaming, a joke

India’s tech industry clocks highest-ever revenue at $227 bn in FY22: NASSCOM

The NASSCOM report also said that the tech industry added 4.5 lakh people to its talent pool in FY22.

www.businesstoday.in

Fascinating article by: www.businesstoday.in .

 

[Skull and Bones]

Very unlikely.

 

[MirageBlue]

Just another fan-boy‘s wet-dream!

Fan boy? Bharat Karnad isn't just a "Fan boy", and the man he's quoting is a former IAF ACM. But he does have this long time dream of India getting strategic bombers and it seems that the former ACM has hinted at the possibility of that happening.

But this is to be taken with a big pinch of salt. IAF has bigger priorities with MRFA and 6 Tu-160s may not be that high up the priority list. ACM (retd) Arup Raha may have just given his own opinion, I doubt he would reveal any active plans to lease bombers this way.

CAATSA is also a new reality to keep in mind, despite India getting a waiver from the US. The bigger thing on my mind is how the US will pressurise India for quid pro quo thanks to the CAATSA waiver. Either the MRFA or the MRCBF will likely go to the US, I feel.

 

[MirageBlue]

OTOH, there is the fact that the Russians flew an upgraded new build Tu-160M2 (the first in decades) with plans to build 50 more and upgrade 16 existing Tu-160s to the Tu-160M2 standard. An order for 10 was placed, with a cost estimated to be USD 270 million.

Getting new build Tu-160M2s is an altogether different proposition as getting older Tu-160s with obsolete avionics and older engines.

First new production Tu-160 Blackjack in decades makes its maiden flight

Nevertheless, I still think is just a rumour and can't be taken too seriously as yet.

But it is one of the most beautiful airplanes built, IMO

 

[Deino]

Fan boy? Bharat Karnad isn't just a "Fan boy", and the man he's quoting is a former IAF ACM. But he does have this long time dream of India getting strategic bombers and it seems that the former ACM has hinted at the possibility of that happening.

….

Sorry, but then this former ACM has lost all his sense of rational and has become a fan-boy! Dreaming for a strategic bomber is one thing - in fact I repeatedly dream I could fly - but getting one from Russia is something totally different.

 

[Two banks of the River]

Some retired person says that he would like IAF to have something and everyone goes mad.

Meanwhile IAF is actually going to loose 8 squadrons till 2030 with just 4 squadrons actually on order and that doesn't seem a bigger problem to everyone?

 

[vishwambhar]

I first doubted this news to be true but just now I watched on TV9 news Channel they're also showing news of India may go for TU160s...

 

[Deino]

Some retired person says that he would like IAF to have something and everyone goes mad.

Meanwhile IAF is actually going to loose 8 squadrons till 2030 with just 4 squadrons actually on order and that doesn't seem a bigger problem to everyone?

But eventually that's the reason for such stupid reports which are only too eagerly picked up by the uniformed media to have a sensational story? Instead of pointing towards exactly this issue, years of mismanagement, failures and delays on behalf of the industry, the IAF's and MoD's over-bureaucratic decision making process and the real issues, it is much easier to claim such a bombastic story.

 

[Hellfire2006]

China's border is a vast no man's land in Tibet. Even if India buys Tu-160, it poses no threat to China.

The biggest threat to China of Tu-160 is that it is a very good nuclear weapon delivery platform when the Chinese Army assists Pakistan.

In fact, for the time being, there is no evidence to prove that India has the technology of miniaturization of nuclear weapons, so India may not have the ability to use missiles to deliver nuclear weapons. The Tu-160 may be India's most powerful nuclear weapon delivery platform.

Nonsense. We've been over this before. No nation would sell it's nuclear secrets in the open, india's missiles are the backbone of it's nuclear detterent. Why would we even develop missiles if we can't mount them. You seem to be lacking common sense

Some retired person says that he would like IAF to have something and everyone goes mad.

Meanwhile IAF is actually going to loose 8 squadrons till 2030 with just 4 squadrons actually on order and that doesn't seem a bigger problem to everyone?

IAF will actually lose 4 squadrons till 2030. Mig29s , Jags , Mirage 2000s will be kept flying till 2035. Mig21s will be replaced by 4 squadrons of tejas mk1a on order. Meanwhile AMCA and Tejas Mk2 will replace the mirage , mig 29 and Jag squadrons