Here are the photos of the Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers intercepted by RAF Typhoon jets

October 31, 2014 Military Aviation, Russia, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

Once again, the RAF releases air-to-air images of the long-range Russian Tu-95 bombers intercepted off UK earlier this week.

On Oct. 29, the RAF scrambled two Typhoons on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) to intercept two Tu-95 Bear H strategic bombers.

The two Russian strategic bombers flew parallel to the Norwegian coast, heading to the south-west, were part of a larger package that included four more Bears and four Il-78 tanker aircraft that returned to Russia after skirting the Norwegian airspace.

During the time the Typhoons shadowed the Tu-95s , the RAF pilots had the opportunity to get some nice shots of the Bears, like the one you can see in this post.

Tu-95 escorted by Typhoon

Image credit: RAF/Crown Copyright

 

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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14 Comments

    • Russia stopped production of the Tu-95s in 1994. So, 30 is the youngest they could be… I, by the way, knew it was the 90s, but had to look up the year.

      • Wow, are those fresh builds or life extension refurbs like the C-5’s got in the 80’s?

        • I should have said ’20’ and not ’30’. I think it was a typo. I’m sure they have been ‘refurbished, but not the way Americans do it. Russians have always done more with less…. These Tu-95s are likely refurbed better than the ones on the east side of Russia. The Russians on the Siberian side of the world get less attention than those on the western part of Russia. And the same likely holds true for their weaponry.

          I’m not sure where the aircraft that travel along the northern part of Europe (to Portugal) come from…. They are definitely eastern based, even though I am not sure where. I’ve seen a Tu-95 on the ground (in the US) and they are neat looking birds, but I am still partial to the B-52 for the not-so-modern aircraft. And after being ‘under’ a B-2 during a flyover, I can’t help but be in love with that aircraft too.

        • They are all new build aircraft from the 80s-90s and are actually a new model based on the Tu-142. Don’t let the looks fool you. They are not from the 60s like the B-52s.

  2. Anybody notice the serial on the plane is BBC POOCNN – is that them saying the BBC is a shit version of CNN

    • In fact Ввc России is the contraction of Военно-воздушные cилы России, that means “Russain Air Force”.
      But, as you say, it can be funny !

  4. You dont need a modern plane for intelligence if you can update all inside, this is the case, the airplane is realiable, big, with a great range, old looking from the end of the 60s, but everything inside is of the 21st century, you can bet on that!

    • Very tru! Look at the B-52’s that have been around, since forever, in the AF fleet. Some of those ol gals are as old as I am – yet have very modern, up to date avionics, and other military hardware in them.

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