A Russian Tu-142 Bear maritime patrol aircraft dropped dozens of submarine-hunting sonobuoys near the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales after flying close to the vessel in the Norwegian Sea, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said.
The incident occurred July 2 while the Royal Navy-led Carrier Strike Group was operating in the High North as part of Operation Firecrest.
The ministry said the Russian aircraft repeatedly approached the carrier strike group, failed to respond to calls on international radio frequencies and dropped “tens” of sonobuoys while flying near the formation.
Images released by the U.K. showed the aircraft continuing to deploy the devices even as British fighter jets flew alongside it.
While operating in the Norwegian Sea on Operation FIRECREST, the UK’s Carrier Strike Group was approached repeatedly by a Russian ‘Bear-F’ maritime patrol aircraft.
The aircraft flew unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales, dropped multiple sonobuoys nearby, and failed to… pic.twitter.com/LLPgwo2VXA
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 6, 2026
According to the ministry, two F-35B Lightning jets launched from HMS Prince of Wales intercepted and escorted the Russian Tu-142MK, known by NATO as the “Bear-F,” until it left the area.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence described the Russian crew’s conduct as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
Sonobuoys are expendable acoustic sensors used to detect and track submarines by transmitting underwater sounds to nearby aircraft.
HMS Prince of Wales is leading NATO air defense operations in the region and is the first European aircraft carrier to conduct such missions with F-35 fighter jets.
The encounter comes as the United Kingdom leads NATO’s Allied Reaction Force, the alliance’s high-readiness force designed for rapid deployment. The Ministry of Defence has described the force as “the spearhead” of NATO’s rapid deployment capability, capable of deploying worldwide within days.
Russia has not publicly commented on the incident.
Earlier, NATO F-35 fighter jets intercepted Russian Tu-160 “Blackjack” strategic bombers during a long-range flight over the Barents and Norwegian seas near the UK’s northern flank.
