Tupolev Tu-142

The Tupolev Tu-142, with the NATO reporting names Bear F and Bear J, is a Soviet and Russian maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine aircraft derived from the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber. After the American Polaris submarine-launched missile entered service, the Council of Ministers directed Tupolev on 28 February 1963 to develop a long-range anti-submarine aircraft, following the dropped Tu-95PLO proposal. Compared with the Tu-95 it has a stretched fuselage for specialised equipment, a reinforced undercarriage, better avionics and weapons, and the defensive guns removed except in the tail. The first aircraft flew on 18 June 1968, and 100 were built at the Kuibyshev and Taganrog plants between 1968 and 1994. The last major anti-submarine version was the Tu-142M3 with NK-12MP engines, and the Tu-142MR relayed communications to ballistic missile submarines. The Indian Navy flew eight Tu-142MK-E aircraft from 1988 to 2017, and Russian Naval Aviation still operates the type.