Very unlikely that whats off your coasts are bears. Bears are very outdated as bombers, and are not used as such anymore, serving now a mostly reconaissance and EW role.
It is likelier that what has been spotted off the coast are either the TU-22M3 Blindfire or the TU-160 Blackjack supersonic bombers, broadly comparable to the US B1 bomber series.
Agreed. The VT ANG are flying patrols 24/7 now.
The Tu-22M3 doesn’t have the range to fly off the coast of the U.S. as per heavy strategic bombers. The nearest that they even get to Europe is flying down the Norwegian coast before making their way back to Russia. They don’t have the range and are not equipped for air-air refuelling.
The Tu-95MS Bear H that you see off North America are heavy strategic bombers. All the Tu-95MS that you see are new-build aircraft. The last came off the production line in the early 1990s. The Tu-95MS are air-launched cruise missile carriers and fulfil the strategic role. Think of B—52H in the pure ALCM role. Tu-22M3 is the Backfire. Blindfire is the name for a British air defense tracking radar.