Originally Posted by
NorthSouth
These are all aircraft movements that have been tracked by NATO for many hours, from as soon as they take off (maybe even before that!) from their Kola Peninsula bases. There are no surprises. QRA is launched, with tanker support, so that it can meet the "intruders" at a pre-planned point.
I recall a Bear popping up in the North Sea at low level doing the rounds of the rigs. It was a bit of a surprise. The Bears are still about.