The U.S. Hasn’t produced a bomber in 22 years. The big bomber fleets of Cold War years are long gone. Today, the Air Force only has about 160 heavy bombers left to cover the whole world — 76 B-52 Stratofortresses, 63 B-1 Lancers, and 20 B-2 Spirits. On any given day many of them are not ready for combat; they are having on-board equipment replaced, or conducting training missions, or awaiting maintenance. So the actual number of heavy bombers ready to go right now in a crisis is only about a hundred.
Meanwhile, the Russkies are sending 170 bombers to Syria alone.
170 bomber are probably attack aircraft. I cannot see a need for a large strategic bomber in urban areas.
That “170 Bombers” probably includes a lot of tactical fighter bombers. Russia only has about 66 TU-95s, 15 or so TU-160s, and maybe a hundred TU-22Ms, and they are not going to move Russia’s total strategic bomber fleet to Syria and abandon its nuclear deterrent for Syria, so I suspect that number includes SU-24s and SU-25s or other tactical fighter bombers.
Regardless, Putin may be our “Glavni Vrag”, but you have to admit, he has balls.
Vast fleets of bombers aren’t required to put ordinance on target any more. An F16 is capable of carrying more than enough for many missions.
The Ruskies airplanes aren’t the model of dependability either.
The SU-24 is a light bomber not unlike our old FB-111. Russia has about 450 of those.
Also, the dumb-assed Iranians likely call anything that can drop a bomb a "bomber" opening the definition up to all attack aircraft.
It's the 700 tanks that I find odd. Perhaps here too, the dumb-assed Iranians refer to any armored vehicle as a "tank".
According to Iraq. Even I can remember Russia faking out the American analysts with scores of mock aircraft. What definition of bomber is in use here, a Cessna with a bomb slung under it could be called a bomber............by some.
Well they are probably including mostly medium bombers and attack aircraft in that number. But your point is sound.
That is sad and scary.
You really think Russia has 170 ready for action long range bombers? Their economy is many times worse than ours. They can’t even put down a bankrupt Ukraine right on their doorstep.