PUBLISHED on August 11, 2025, 6:02 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – In a nearly forgotten piece of post-Cold War history, the U.S. attempted to acquire three Tu-160 “Blackjack” bombers from Ukraine in the late 1990s.
-An American company planned to convert the supersonic bombers into launch platforms for its Pegasus space vehicle.
-However, Russia intervened, arguing the deal would violate the START-2 treaty.
-Ultimately, the plan was scuttled, and Russia later acquired eight Tu-160s and other strategic assets from Ukraine in exchange for forgiving a massive natural gas debt, a move that displeased Washington at the time.
Tu-160 Bombers to America? It Almost Happenned
Did you know that, in a bit of nearly forgotten post-Cold War history, the U.S. attempted to buy three Tu-160 strategic bombers from Ukraine in the late 1990s, to use them with the Pegasus Space Launch vehicle?
This bit of history was written about back in 2023 by Aviation Geek Club, which in turn cited a book called Tupolev Tu‑160: Soviet Strike Force Spearhead.
The authors of that book described the Tu-160 as “the Soviet Union’s most potent strategic bomber,” and its answer to the B-1B Lancer.
Aviation Geek Club described it as “designed to destroy targets in remote geographic areas and deep in the rear of continental theaters of operations. It is the largest supersonic aircraft and variable geometry wing aircraft in the history of military aviation, as well as the world’s heaviest combat aircraft, having the highest gross take-off weight among bombers.”
Planes for Ukraine
After the Cold War ended and Ukraine gained independence, the nation owned several of the Tu-160 aircraft.
“However, it soon became clear that the bombers were in reality a white elephant. For a maximum-range sortie each aircraft required 170 tons (374,780 lb) of kerosene, and 40 tons (88,180 lb) of fuel were needed for a training flight over home ground. According to the UAF command, the maintenance costs of the strategic bomber fleet amounted to US$1.4 million per year,” Aviation Geek Club reported.
Therefore, Russia began seeking to buy back the jets. Years of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine failed to bear fruit, while the U.S. took notice and began seeking the destruction of the jets. After all, the START-2 treaty mandated that the then-Soviet Union “dismantle its strategic bombers not later than Dec. 4, 2001,” per Aviation Geek Club.
Ultimately, the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council decided to dispose of the Tu-95S and Tu-160 systems, a process funded by the U.S. under the Co-operative Threat Reduction Program. The scrapping of the jets and other systems began in 1998, with U.S. company Raytheon supervising the project.
A Separate Agreement
But then, in 1998, the U.S. and Ukraine reached a different agreement: “16 Tu-160 bombers would be scrapped, and three would be spared from the guillotine and modified for use as the first stage of a suborbital launch space system,” Aviation Geek Club said. Those three Tu-160 bombers would go to the American company Platforms International Corp., which would “convert the bombers into launch platforms for Pegasus Space Launch Vehicles (SLVs), placing satellites into low-Earth orbit.”
However, Russia soon took notice of the deal, arguing that it would violate the START-2 treaty. And that was enough to scuttle the deal.
“Russia would do everything to stop its most modern bomber from falling into American hands. Somewhat surprisingly, Russia’s position found support in Washington, which also spoke up against any infringement of the treaty’s basic stipulations by Ukraine; therefore, Kiev had to abandon the plan,” Aviation Geek Club said.
After that, in 1999, the Russians and Ukrainians discussed “exchanging eight Tu-160s and three Tu-95MSs for Antonov An-22 Antey (Antheus/Cock) and An-124 Ruslan heavy transports from Russian Air Force stocks,” something opposed by the Americans, even offering to finance the scrapping.
Ultimately, in the summer of 1999, Russia and Ukraine agreed to “the transfer of eight fully serviceable Tu-160s, three Tu-95MSs and 575 Kh-55, Kh-55SM and Kh-22NA cruise missiles (the latter type was carried by the Tu-22M3), plus ground support equipment, to Russia,” to settle a $275 million debt for natural gas deliveries, Aviation Geek Club said.
“The irritation of the US caused by the transfer of eight Blackjacks and three Bear-Hs to Russia passed largely unnoticed for the outside world,” the report said. “However, people who were directly engaged in the negotiations recall that Washington had expressed its displeasure to Kiev at the MoD delegation level in connection with the transfer of the 11 aircraft to Moscow.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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