Moscow. January 9th. INTERFAX - Long-range anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142 this year will continue to make long flights over the waters of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
"The crews of the Tu-142 long-range anti-submarine aircraft of the Northern Fleet Air Force and Air Defense Association will continue the practice of long-term flights in operationally important areas of the Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. This task will be one of the priorities for pilots of this type of aircraft in the new year," the press service reported.
According to her, in 2021, the average duration of flights was about 10 hours, and the average distance traveled per flight exceeded 7 thousand kilometers.
"All flights were carried out in strict accordance with international rules and treaties on the use of airspace without violating the borders of the coastal states," the press service stressed.
The Tu-142 (according to the NATO codification - Bear-F) is a long-range anti-submarine defense aircraft, one of the largest in the world, designed to combat submarines. The practical flight range is 12.5 thousand km, the combat range is 6.4 thousand km.
Russian strategic aviation - Tu-160 and Tu-95MS, as well as anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142 and Il-38 regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Baltic Seas, Pacific Ocean.
In March 2018, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that "for the first time since Soviet times, anti-submarine aviation flights have been carried out across the North Pole to the North American continent."
