China, Russia, and US Expected to Renew Long-Range Bomber Fleets Written 18 May 2022
An artist's rendering of a B-21 Raider. | Credit: U.S. Air Force graphic; USAF; Public Domain
Aviation Week reports, “As of 2022, only three countries continue to operate dedicated long-range bombers – China, Russia and the U.S. – with 518 aircraft in service around the world.” Aviation Week Network “projects the number will increase over the next decade to 574 aircraft as the same three operators modernize and expand their fleets.” The next generation of bombers includes “the Air Force’s B-21 and China’s H-20,” while “the largest single family of bombers in service around the world is the Xian H-6 operated by China, itself a platform that can trace its lineage back 70 years to the first flight of the Tupolev Tu-16 just 12 days after the B-52.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)