What are the Russian bombers Tu-142 Bear-F and Tu-142 Bear-J and why were they in Scottish airspace?

British fighter jets today intercepted two Russian bombers in Scottish airspace and NATO’s Northern Air Police area.

Packed with communications and reconnaissance equipment, the ‘Bear Bombers’ flew north of the Shetland Islands, prompting RAF Typhoons to scramble from RAF Lossiemouth.

The air force made a “successful interception”, monitoring the flight path of the Russian Tu-142 Bear-F and Tu-142 Bear-J aircraft as they flew overhead “to avoid any possible threat to the British territory’.

But what are the Russian bombers and what were they doing in Scottish airspace?

Here’s everything you need to know about the Russian Bear Bombers.

What are the Russian Tu-142 bombers?

The Russian Tu-142 bombers are Soviet-era reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft that have been in military use since 1972 and are still used by the Russian Navy.

Filled with communications and reconnaissance equipment, they are adept at picking out submarines and then knocking them out with bombs and cannons.

Over the years operators have developed a number of variants including the Bear-F and the Bear-J which today fly north of Shetland.

The variants are approximately 53.08 m (174 ft 2 in) long with a wingspan of 50 m (164 ft 1 in) and can fly up to 925 km/h.

The Tu-142 Beer-F is a dedicated anti-submarine aircraft developed in the early 1970s around the reconnaissance and destination aircraft, the Tu-95RC.

The tail turret of the aircraft is fitted with a pair of AM-23 cannons – guns about an inch wide.

The Bear-F also carries anti-submarine torpedoes, anti-ship torpedoes, depth charges and up to eight anti-ship missiles.

This makes it a versatile maritime strategic bomber capable of dealing damage to a range of possible targets.

The Tu-142 Bear-J is the western reporting name for the Tu-142MR Orel – the Eagle.

It is based on the Bear F airframe but has unique systems, with changes to the ventral fairing, nose radome and tail antenna.

This variant serves as a command post and communication platform to talk to submarines underwater.

It was also designed specifically as a doomsday aircraft, created to communicate between naval headquarters and a fleet of ballistic submarines in the event of nuclear war.

The Bear-J was originally ordered in response to the Cold War US Navy’s own bid to produce an aircraft that could reliably communicate back and forth in the event of Armageddon.

The R that distinguishes it is an abbreviation of retranslyat – meaning “communication plane.”

But in addition to transmitting information, the aircraft is equipped with two Gryazev/Schipunov GSh-23 twin-barrelled guns mounted on its tail – a 23mm cannon that can fire at around 3,000-3,400 rpm.

It also includes jammers and flares to disrupt the enemy.

The first two aircraft were tested in 1986 and remain in service with Russian forces.

Why were they in Scottish airspace?

Over the years, similar incidents have occurred in British and Norwegian airspace, which may provide a clue as to what the planes were up to.

In March 2020, two Tu-142s were spotted approaching UK airspace, prompting yet another response from RAF Lossiemouth to scramble Typhoons.

The bombers were heading for the northwest coast of Scotland, but this time avoided entering British airspace, the RAF said.

They described it as a “routine response” – one of more than 135 incidents where the RAF scrambled Russian aircraft near the UK between 2005 and 2020 to intercept Russian aircraft.

T-Intelligence, an early warning and threats group, explained at the time that the GIUK gap – the space between Greenland, Iceland and the UK – is of strategic importance to Russia as a route to the North Atlantic.

A commentary at the time read: ‘The GIUK gap is very important for Russia to move its nuclear submarines and ASW aircraft in and out of the North Atlantic in the event of war.

“To better understand enemy order of battle and tactics in the region, the Russian(s) are deliberately testing the RAF and NATO’s overall QRA response (time and tactics) while also monitoring naval movements.”

In other cases, Tu-142s have been involved in joint training exercises with Britain.

On February 2, 2022, just 22 days before the start of the war in Ukraine, British and Norwegian fighters shadowed a Tu-142 as it searched for a submarine in the Northeast Atlantic.

Its purpose was to search and track ships far underwater, TASS reported.

The UK government has not specified why the aircraft were seen in Scottish airspace earlier today.

They did note that: ‘Russian military aircraft entering the UK’s flight information region, the controlled area of ​​UK international airspace, could pose a threat to other aircraft.

“These Russian planes often don’t talk to air traffic control or ‘squawk’, but broadcast a code that makes them visible to other air users and air traffic controllers on the ground.”

Speak against British Defense Journalexplained Andy Netherwood: ‘Russian long-haul airlines often pass through the London and Scottish FIRs without filing a flight plan, talking to ATC or ‘screeching’ (operating their transponders).

“This effectively makes them invisible to civilian ATC and is very dangerous because airplanes also fly through this airspace.”

For this reason, RAF jets were scrambled to monitor the planes as they flew through the zone, relaying valuable information to air traffic control.

The lead RAF Typhoon pilot said after the meeting: ‘It is really gratifying to know that we were able to make a successful interception, preserving the integrity of UK and NATO airspace.

“When the alarm for a scramble went off in the early hours of the morning, the adrenaline started to flow.

‘Working with ground control operators and with air-to-air refueling from an RAF Voyager, we were able to operate until the mission was completed and the target aircraft left the UK’s area of ​​interest.’