Quote:
Originally Posted by RSVX
B1-B Ripoff.
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Well, let's see: B-1A (the predecessor of B-1B) program has started in 1969. Tu-160 was conceived in 1972. They went into service in 1986 and 1987, respectively. That is, most of the development was in parallel and, given the same goals, notsurprisingly resulted in similar aircrafts.
The only difference is that Tu160 is almost twice as fast (M2.05 vs M1.25), has a 50% longer operating range (10800mi vs 7500mi) and carries more payload (89000lbs vs 75000lbs).
Not bad for a "rip-off", eh?