I’ve been looking up halfways expecting to see one over Maine.
Those counter rotating turboprops must make a fairly distinctive sound, don’t they?
They look a lot like a B-52 with 4 blenders strapped on to the wings.
What is that long rod sticking out of the nose - electronics or a cannon?
That long thing on the nose is the in-flight refueling probe...
The props give it the radar signature of a building. And it can be heard at cruise altitude by submarine listeners.
It would be useless for dropping bombs overhead but it doesn’t have to. The bear can be loaded with cruise missiles and hit from 1000 miles away with GPS accuracy.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=69ATnys2gRk
2:30
Watch an An-22 1950s strategic freighter, departing from former Soviet AFB in Germany circa 1994.
Same powerplant. The sound is amazing, isn’t it?