There have never been very many operational Tu-160 bombers in service. The Tu-160 is focused on the standoff weapon role, and is ideally meant to delivering tactical ordinance while enemy air defense is still in effect. Standoff weapons are expensive, even compared to &quot;smart&quot; conventional weapons.<p>Tu-95 is a big dumb bomber much in the way the B-52 is; since it also has&#x2F;is getting the standoff capability, it&#x27;s hard to argue the purpose of the Tu-160.<p>A lot of the newer bombers were built with the nuclear role in mind; in reality the world went in the direction of smart conventional weapons instead. For that role, aircraft like the Tu-95 and BUFF are more ideal, as they can just act as a large &quot;bomb truck&quot; and drop a large quantity of guided conventional munitions very efficiently once air defenses are suppressed.