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In the afternoon of 2 July, somewhere north-west of Norway, HMS Prince of Wales was conducting flying operations as part of Operation FIRECREST. Radio calls went out to the approaching Russian aircraft on international frequencies to establish their intentions and flag the safety-of-flight risk of closing on a carrier mid-launch and recovery. There was no reply and two F-35Bs from 809 Naval Air Squadron escorted the Bear, staying with it until it broke away.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “While operating in the Norwegian Sea on Operation FIRECREST, the UK’s Carrier Strike Group was repeatedly approached by a Russian ‘Bear-F’ maritime patrol aircraft. The Bear-F passed at low altitude and unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales and dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier. This activity was unsafe and unprofessional. The Russian aircraft was intercepted and escorted by two UK F-35 jets from HMS Prince of Wales until it left the area.”

The deployment of sonobouys indicates the aircraft was searching for a submarine that might be accompanying the group. Unfortunately, there is no RN SSN available for this key task, and any subsurface support would have to be provided by allied boats. A submarine is unlikely to operate so close to the carrier anyway and the sonobuoy drop may have been more a case of Russians signalling their interest, rather than being of tactical relevance.

This incident was unusual as the intercepting jets flew from the deck of the carrier the Bear was probing, rather than from a shore base. This also demonstrates the need for carriers to support ASW operations. In a conflict scenario, F-35s would be dispatched to destroy any MPA long before it got close to the carrier or other high-value units, preventing it from providing targeting information to Russian submarines or warships. Although an unprofessional manoeuvre by the Russian aircrew, the activity provides useful training for the carrier group and shows the Russians remain concerned that the UK and NATO are able to threaten its Northern Fleet bases. A great training opportunity while also provocative behaviour carrying the risk of an international incident – the Bear passes over HMS Duncan, closely followed by an 809 Squadron F-35.

The Tupolev Tu-142 is the Maritime Patrol Aircraft variant of the Tu-95 ‘Bear’ bomber, dating back to the 1950s. Versions of the Tu-142 were in production between 1968 and 1994. The aircraft is powered by four NK-12MP turboprops, still the most powerful turboprops ever manufactured in series production. The distinctive contra-rotating propeller signature is notoriously loud and is even audible on sonar by submerged submarines. However, it has a long range, in excess of 12,000 km, with patrol endurance of up to 17 hours and can carry up to 126 sonobuoys plus torpedoes and depth charges.

Around 22 airframes remain operational with Russian naval aviation, flying mainly from the Olenya Air Base on the Kola Peninsula, only around 100km from the Finnish and Norwegian borders. Their patrols have been a feature of North Atlantic patrols since the Cold War. The Bear-F, registration RF-34059, is a Tu-142MK, Mod 3, the mid-generation ASW variant dating from 1985 with the Korshun-K targeting system, uprated NK-12MP engines, and the Nashatyr-Nefrit ASW suite.

The North Atlantic and High North have seen a marked rise in Russian naval aviation and intelligence-gathering activity over the past two years, with reporting pointing to roughly a 30% increase in Russian naval assets operating near UK waters over that period. Alongside Bear-F sorties, Russian intelligence-collection (AGI) vessels have also shadowed UK-led NATO exercises in the Norwegian Sea, including attempts to gather intelligence during exercise Dynamic Mongoose earlier in 2026, and Tu-95MS bombers have separately flown armed patrols off Norway. Taken together, these incidents illustrate the backdrop against which Operation FIRECREST, and the deployment of HMS Prince of Wales to the Arctic and High North, has been conducted this year. F-35 pilot gets an unusual close-up view of a Bear dropping a sonobuoy.