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Russia's Tu-160 gets even deadlier with the M2 upgrade

Good bomber, but it's stealthy era now. Super sonic is good, but variable-sweep wing is very expensive for maintenance.
 
Good bomber, but it's stealthy era now. Super sonic is good, but variable-sweep wing is very expensive for maintenance.

only if you plan to fly over hostile territory. Now it's all about heavy cruise missile platforms.

you need both endurance and speed for maritime strike since you have to search large areas of ocean and get there before any large fleet movements are made. This is also a mission that China and Russia both need very much (while the US doesn't).

the swing wing is indeed bad for maintenance though. However, leading edge extensions and canards can make up for it - increasing lift during takeoff, then retracting or repositioning for supersonic flight. And this sort of traditional design can still be stealthy, as shown by F-22/F-35/J-20.
 
Tu-160 is a weapon for a different era. It is too big to escape air to air missiles
 

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