Alluding to the age and technological backwardness of the planes, [State Department spokesman Sean] McCormack added that, "If Russia feels as though they want to take some of these old aircraft out of mothballs and get them flying again, that’s their decision."
Some analysts might not be so sanguine. Russia’s aging equipment and Russian air crews with less comprehensive training than their American or Soviet-era counterparts make the bombers more vulnerable to mechanical problems. During the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. bombers transporting nuclear weapons sometimes crashed, leading to costly environmental restoration programs and other hazards. At present, it is unclear whether they are carrying nuclear warheads on their patrols, though Putin’s use of the term "combat duty" suggests such a possibility.
Russia has resumed flying long-range bombers near its former Cold War rivals. Many press and pundits are in a panic. But the State Department doesn’t seem too impressed, and Richard Weitz over at World Politics Review shares that view. They seem to believe the antique bombers are a bigger threat to their own crews than to any perceived enemy:
