[Afterguard]

Some of us old Cold War geezers ( I speak only for myself, of course) remember that the Soviets were always flying Bears and Badger bombers in and out of the ADIZ every day of the year. They would surge a bunch of SSNs and Boomers periodically thru the GIUK gap and from Kamchatka. Always testing air defense and ASW capabilities, of which I personally had the privilege of being part This behavior now is similar to, but only a tiny fraction of those times. Putin is trying to redefine the late USSR and we no longer have the will of leadership to respond in kind. But I am confident that the young men and women of the services and our vastly superior hardware can and will eliminate the threat if called on. I work with these fine folks every day. Take heart.

[Thrownatbirth]

Yes, I remember in my crazy teenage years the dulcet tone and DF spikes of the MUSHROOM radars on those critters. They were a pain because you could pick them up 500 miles out which meant you had to track them for the next two hours instead of looking for Snoop Pairs. You also had to keep the JOOD from going to GQ.