Dave Majumdar
The Rockwell International B-1B Lancer strategic bomber and the Russian Tu-160 Blackjack look visually similar and even share some overlap in their mission sets, however, the two aircraft are quite different.
The B-1A was originally designed as a high-altitude supersonic penetrator before the Carter administration cancelled the program in 1977 after it became apparent that the new bomber would not be able to survive against new Soviet air defenses. Instead, the Carter Adminstration emphasized ballistic missiles and authorized the development of what would eventually become the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit stealth bomber. However, the development of the stealth bomber was not made public and would remain classified for years to come.
President Ronald Reagan resurrected the supersonic bomber as the B-1B. Instead of penetrating at high altitude, the new B-1B would be optimized for low altitude penetration using a combination of speed, terrain masking and reduced radar cross section. However, the tradeoff was that the B-1B sacrificed high-altitude, high speed performance as a result. While the B-1A had a top speed of over Mach 2.0, but the B-1B can barely manage Mach 1.25 as a result of its many structural changes and fixed geometry inlets.
After the end of the Cold War, the B-1B was denuclearized and refocused on the conventional role with all of the jet’s nuclear hardware being removed in 1995. In place of the nuclear capability, the bomber was given a new conventional role starting with Conventional Mission Upgrade Program. As part of the effort, the bomber was fitted with enhanced synthetic aperture radar capability and the ability to carry precision-guided munitions. In the intervening years since Sept. 11, 2001, the bomber has been upgraded with new sensors like the Sniper XR targeting pod and data-links to better enable to jet to perform missions for America’s counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-deadly-tu-160-bomber-vs-americas-b-1-who-wins-15626
