A new strategic bomber designed by Tupolev, an aerospace and defence company based in Moscow, will be included into China's State Arms Program for 2016-2025 during the Singapore Air Show of 2014, said Andrey Boginsky, director of the aviation industry department at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade in an interview with state broadcaster Voice of Russia.
The time it takes for Tupolev to design this new bomber will be similar to the time the US took to design the B-1 strategic bomber or B-2 stealth bomber, Boginsky said. The bomber shares a similar concept design with the US B-2 bomber which has stealth capabilities and can cruise at subsonic speed. Although this new bomber is being designed with technology used decades ago by the US to develop their stealth bomber, many challenges still wait ahead.
The new bomber is designed to replace Russia's Soviet-era Tu-95 strategic bomber. It will serve as a platform to fire X-101 cruise missiles with a range of 5,500 kilometers. In addition to the enemy defense position, the bomber must be capable of destroying moving targeting including vehicles and vessels, said the report.
The range of China's PLA Air Force and Navy H-6 bombers cannot yet reach US homeland, said the broadcast.
China and Russia have been in communication about jointly developing an advanced bomber. Russia reportedly considered providing blueprints for its old Tu-22M3 to China. Beijing and Moscow have yet to reach any agreement regarding the design of such aircraft, according to the broadcast.
The project will save money for both nations once a consensus is reached.http://www.wantchinatimes.com/
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