While the B-1B Lancer and the Tu-160 Blackjack are both supersonic heavy bombers, the Lancer maintains certain advantages over its Russian counterpart.

Credited with dozens of world records for speed, payload capacity, distance and time of climb, the B-1B Lancer is the "backbone of America's long-range bomber force," according to the US Air Force.

The B-1B, also known as the "Bone," is a sweep-wing, supersonic bomber designed to combine long-range flight, maneuverability and high speed while enhancing survivability.

Designed as a low-altitude nuclear deterrence bomber and later modified to carry conventional munitions, the B-1B holds about 60 world records that reflect the aircraft's exceptional performance.

Russia's answer to the B-1B bomber, the Tu-160 Blackjack, shares some of its characteristics, such as its variable sweep-wing design and supersonic flight capability.

But while the two bombers are among the largest and fastest in the world, they differ in key ways, according to the National Interest.

The B-1B Lancer was designed in the Cold War era to combine payload and speed while at the same time adopting low-level penetration capability to evade Soviet radar. In contrast, the Tu-160 prioritizes high-speed and high-altitude operations.

While the Lancer was designed to penetrate hostile airspace and deliver strikes, the Tu-160 was never designed as a low-level bomber.

It subsequently lacks defensive weapons, and instead must rely on its high speed and the standoff distances of its weapons to evade enemies.

"Whereas the B-1 is a bomber in the classical sense -- meaning it flies to targets to deploy its bomb load -- the Tu-160 was designed to operate as a stand-off weapons platform, where missiles are launched from bomb bay doors," the National Interest reported in January.

"After which, the [Tu-160] could fly away at speeds of Mach 2+."

The Lancer's top speed is Mach 1.25.

Versatility

However, the Lancer boasts a more diverse payload capacity than does the Tu-160.

The Tu-160 has two bomb bays with rotating launcher racks, and typically carries the Kh-555 and Kh-101/Kh-102 cruise missiles.

Meanwhile, the Lancer is capable of carrying up to 34,000kg of ordnance in three bomb bays. It has optional external pylons and the capacity to be fitted with a Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod for air support missions.

The Lancer carries the largest conventional payload of weapons in the Air Force inventory, according to the US Air Force, allowing it to "rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time."

Its potential weapons include the AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Global Positioning System-guided bombs, among others -- making it a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system.

The B-1B also wins in terms of sheer numbers.

About 35 Tu-160s had been built or were under construction when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, according to AirVectors.

Ukraine obtained 19 of the aircraft, eight of which were later obtained by Russia in 1999 under a debt forgiveness deal. Ukraine disposed of the remainder, save for a museum display model.

Today, Russia is believed to have 14 Tu-160s -- about a third of the US Lancer fleet. Of the 100 Lancers built in the 1980s, about 45 remain.