Two of the Russian Air Force’s Tu-95MS bombers have successfully completed a routine patrol flight over the Arctic Ocean, after taking off from Engels Airbase in Russia.
During the patrol, which lasted for 14 hours, six Nato aircraft, including four F-16 fighters from the Norwegian Air Force and two Tornado fighters from the UK Royal Air Force, accompanied the Tu-95 bomber.
Developed by Tupolev, the Tu-95 bomber is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform.
The Tu-95, designated as Bear by Nato, has four Kuznetsov NK-12 engines, each driving contra-rotating propellers.
In August 2007, former Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the air force to resume strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans.
