Biggest Combat Plane Ever Built Goes Into Service

On December 18, 1981, the Soviet Union put into flight the largest combat airplane ever made, the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack heavy bomber. The Blackjack (NATO name, Russians call it White Swan) is also the largest Mach 2 supersonic airplane to ever fly, and is the largest variable swept wing airplane to fly. It remains the longest and heaviest bomber ever built, with a length 18 feet more than a B-52. Although built only in small numbers, the development of this giant, fast bomber stoked panic in Western democracies during the Cold War and provided fuel to President Reagan’s warnings about Soviet military power.