Is the TU-160 a copy of the B-1 Lancer? At first glance, these two heavy bombers look very similar, leading to questions about whether the Soviet jet copied the American one, but the first glance and first love is often deceiving, and the real answer is no, Soviets didn't copy. Actually, both America and Soviet Union used design concepts that were popular at the time, but the differences are also crystal-clear with a closer look, which reveals that the Tu-160 blackjack and the B-1 Lancer are not so similar after all. The Russian bomber is larger, heavier and faster, and is a different class of heavy combat aircraft, with its primary role of being a standoff missile platform, while the B-1 Lancer is a near stealth low-altitude heavy penetration strategic bomber. Also note that the B-1B Lancer was already fully operational when Tu-160 production was only just commencing. In 1994, the crews of both planes met at a fiftieth-anniversary commemoration of World War two's Operation Frantic, and were invited to examine each other’s aircraft, where they found that both aircraft have a lot of different features.
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