On August 14, the UK Ministry of Defense announced the interception of two Russian strategic aircraft. They flew near the Shetland Islands in search of American and British nuclear submarines.
What is known
The Royal Air Force of Great Britain used Eurofighter Typhoon fighters for the interception. The Russian planes turned out to be a pair of Tu-142 anti-submarine bombers. They flew over the North Sea in NATO’s Northern Air Policing Area. The interception mission also involved a Voyager aerial refueling aircraft.
The @RoyalAirForce intercepted two Russian Tu-142 long-range maritime patrol bombers this morning, north of Scotland.
The quick reaction alert Typhoon jets were supported by a Voyager tanker and have now returned to @RAFLossiemouth.
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/hBig110t0L pic.twitter.com/3550tdpXAx
– Ministry of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 14, 2023
The Tu-142 is a fairly old airplane. It was commissioned more than 50 years ago and was designed to neutralize American nuclear submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
The Tu-142 is based on the Tu-95RTs turboprop strategic bomber. The anti-submarine aircraft has been modernized several times. From 1968 to 1994, approximately 100 Tu-142s were built in various modifications.
