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| Russian Tu-142 Bear Drops Sonobuoys During Close Encounter With British Carrier |
| 2026-07-08 |
| [TWZ] A Russian Tu-142 Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft “repeatedly approached” a U.K. Royal Navy carrier strike group in the Norwegian Sea and dropped multiple sonobuoys, the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) said. British F-35B fighters from HMS Prince of Wales intercepted the Tu-142, which was flying “unsafe and unprofessional” maneuvers, according to the MoD. The incident occurred on July 2 but was only disclosed today. "One ping only, Vasily" The Tu-142 passed at low altitude and “unnecessarily close” to HMS Prince of Wales, while the carrier was off the northwest coast of Norway, the MoD added. The Bear-F is understood to have dropped 10 sonobuoys “in close proximity to the carrier,” with at least one of these captured on camera, as seen in the photo at the top of this story. The U.K. Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed off Iceland under NATO command. As well as HMS Prince of Wales, the force includes the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, and is supported by RFA Tidespring, a replenishment tanker. Merlin and Wildcat helicopters are also embarked on the vessels. Meanwhile, other NATO allies are also operating in the same region as part of Arctic Sentry, designed to “reinforce security in the Arctic and North Atlantic.” Typically, a U.K. carrier strike group would also be accompanied by a Royal Navy Astute class nuclear-powered attack submarine. While such information is rarely, if ever, disclosed, in this instance, however, any accompanying submarine would have to be provided by a NATO ally, since the Royal Navy currently has no Astute boat available for this task. Currently, all five of the hunter-killer boats are awaiting maintenance and repairs. While the Tu-142’s decision to drop sonobuoys might suggest Russia was attempting to detect or track a hunter-killer submarine accompanying the force, having a sub operate in such close proximity to a carrier is less likely. These submarines typically provide the outer barrier of the defensive escorts, with the aim of hunting incoming enemy boats long before the carrier itself is ever threatened. Sonobuoys come in a variety of types designed for different missions, but they generally fall into two main categories: active and passive. Active sonobuoys transmit acoustic pulses into the water and listen for echoes reflected from a submarine’s hull, while passive sonobuoys simply detect and monitor the sounds produced by submarines. Because they require additional transmitting and processing capabilities, active sonobuoys are typically more sophisticated — and significantly more expensive — than passive models. Despite their complexity, both types are expendable systems intended for one-time use. For a deeper look at how they differ and why active sonobuoys are playing an increasingly important role in modern anti-submarine warfare |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #4 |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2026-07-08 16:03 |
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| Posted by: swksvolFF 2026-07-08 11:24 |
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| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-07-07 12:54 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-07-07 12:41 |