Of all the "bombers" RoCAF has intercepted, which variants of Tu-95/142 are the most common? ELINT/SIGINT? How do they get there? If taking off from Vladivostok, wouldn't they have to cross Japanese airspace before reaching TW? To fly around Japan would require aerial refueling, how do you get a tanker to the middle of nowhere when the range of the tanker isn't any longer than that of the bomber?

RoCAF pilots also complained of aggressive hotdogging by intercepted aircraft as a job hazard, but never once have they lost aircraft during such intercepts, whereas PLAAF lost 1 J-8-II not too far back. Makes you wonder what's so hard of such intercepts that the relative profficiency of the pilots would mean the diference between life & death. Beside PLAAF, the only other AF that have lost aircraft while intercepting unarmed ones is Cuba.

Televised long time ago. The Bear seem to have a reddish object under its fuselage, though as an 8 years old I couldn't recognize (therefore unable to remember) whether it was a missile or a radome. You can't rule out in case the Cold War turned hot, the Russkies would nuke TW to take out a potential ally of the US. With a single shot of Kh-20 (800kt) into Tzoying, even the 3rd most powerful navy of the Far East is irrelevant. Nuke envy anyone?

Russian bombers are the last of its breed to posess significant gun armaments. It would be real interesting to dodge those bullets that chip bits & pieces off your fighter as the bomber desintegrates slowly under the fire of your M61.