1. B-52 bombers: The operational and reserve B-52 fleets of the US Air Force total about 75 aircraft. They are capable of transporting a 35-ton mixed load of weaponry, which may comprise bombs, mines, and missiles.
The planes, which entered service in 1952 and have since been updated, can now transport air-launched cruise missiles. The capacity of each B-52 is 20 cruise missiles. Once launched from the bomber, the cruise missiles use their turbofan engines, internal guidance, and flight to independently locate and attack targets with warheads weighing up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).
2. F-22 stealth fighters
About 180 F-22s, the US Air Force’s most powerful fighters, are currently in service. The stealthy F-22 can carry two Joint Direct Attack munitions and radar-guided air-to-ground missiles in addition to being able to compete with the greatest fighter aircraft its adversaries have to offer.
With their capacity to avoid enemy radar detection in the early stages of any battle involving US forces, F-22s may be expected to target air defense systems, clearing the way for follow-up attacks by less stealthy aircraft and cruise missiles.
3. Guided missile and attack submarines
Numerous submarines in the US Navy can remain underwater and perhaps fire hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets on land and sea. The most powerful of these submarines, four guided-missile submarines of the Ohio class, can accommodate 154 Tomahawks.
With a payload that weighs 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms), each of these missiles is capable of striking separate targets up to 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) away from the point of launch.
Additionally, each missile has a guidance system that can store data on up to 15 targets, allowing it to change its course mid-flight. The US Navy also has more than forty-two Virginia-class and Los Angeles-class vessels that can transport Tomahawks, but in fewer numbers than the Ohio-class submarines.
4. B-1 Bombers
The US has more than 60 four-engine bombers in its fleet, and they have the greatest payload of any US Air Force aircraft: more than 75,000 pounds (34,019 kg) of cruise missiles, gravity bombs, and naval mines.
Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which are essentially free-fall bombs with guidance systems connected to their tails and may approach their target within 15 feet (5 meters), have been dropped by B-1s regularly in the past.
