Backing Up the Tu-160M2 and PAK DA - Russia Developing a Third Class of Stealthy Next Generation Strategic Bombers

Russia’s armed forces are set to induct a third class of intercontinental ranged next generation strategic bomber into service, alongside the two programs currently under way, with the new platform potentially seeing its first flight by the end of the decade. This new bomber class will be unmanned and subsonic, and will be versatile enough to be capable of “performing all tasks the long-range aviation is facing” - according to military sources. The aircraft will be built around a radar evading stealth airframe, likely a flying wing design, and is expected to integrate many similar technologies to the upcoming PAK DA stealth bomber. The aircraft will reportedly have a range of 12,500km and a payload exceeding 27,000kg. It remains uncertain what types of munitions the bomber will be armed with and whether its role will be purely strategic, or whether like the recent Tu-22M3M it will also be designed for tactical strikes and ship hunting. The aircraft may be the first unmanned strategic bomber in the world, although some reports indicate that the upcoming American B-21 bomber may in future also be capable of operating without pilots.

The first of Russia’s next generation bomber programs, the Tu-160M2, began production in 2017 and represents a considerable improvement over the previous Tu-160 design. Alongside new munitions such as the long ranged Kh-102 radar evading tactical nuclear cruise missile, the bomber makes use of new more advanced stealth coatings, more powerful and efficient engines, a longer range, new defensive and electronic warfare systems, a new glass cockpit and entirely new avionics, communications and control systems. Up to 50 of these will reportedly be procured. The second program, the PAK DA, is an entirely new next generation bomber intended to ensure Russia maintains its lead in the field - which is increasingly challenged as the Chinese and American H-20 and B-21 respectively are set to enter service in the mid 2020s. The third new bomber, as of yet unnamed, is expected to use a stealthy flying wing design and field revolutionary new sensors, hypersonic missiles, laser defence systems, artificial intelligence and other advanced new features. It remains uncertain to what extent this unmanned bomber will resemble the PAK DA, and whether it will primarily be remotely piloted or rely more heavily on artificially intelligence. Introducing an unmanned strategic nuclear weapons system is hardly without precedent, with the Russian Navy having recently introduced the Poseidon unmanned nuclear armed submarine. Russia has more recently introduced advanced prototypes of a lighter unmanned flying wing design in the form of the Okhotnik-B stealth drone - a program which may also provide experience valuable to developing larger unmanned stealth aircraft with a strategic rather than a tactical role.