Tu-142 'Bear-J'

Here we have three amazing photographs of a Bear-J flying over some frozen part of the world.  The picture below shows the starboard side of the plane, while the two photos at right show close ups of the aircraft front and nose areas.

Unfortunately, none of the photos in this series gives any idea of when or where they were taken.

Close-up Views of the 'Bear-J'

These three photos are of the exact same Bear-J shown at the top of the page.  To the right you can see a nice side view of the aircraft and the contrails that the plane is leaving.

The underside of the aircraft (number 25) can be seen in the photo below.  The props, engine nacelles, and electronics faring can be seen here.

A close up view of the wing can be seen at the bottom right.  As with the earlier photos, these give no indication where or when they were taken.

The Electronics Blisters

To the right you can see a wide angle shot of the bottom of the aircraft.  Almost all of its electronics blisters can be seen clearly - even its aircraft number can be seen on the nose wheel well.

It was photographs like these that made it possible for Western nations to gather intelligence as the Soviet air force continued to modernize the Bear airframe.

The Bear below

This photograph shows our Bear-J as it flies below the patrolling NATO aircraft.  Many surface details and its few insignia can all be seen.