It first rumbled into the skies back in the early 1950s, an aerial giant that epitomised Soviet military might. Even its codename – ‘Bear’ – underlined its great size and strength.

When the Tupolev Tu-95 first appeared in front of Western observers in 1956, it did so amid a revolutionary surge in aviation design; the decade after the end of World War II saw jet technology become ascendant. Yet the Bear had propeller-driven engines, which even then seemed archaic.

Few would have believed it would still be on the front-line nearly 60 years later, serving as a strategic bomber, maritime patrol aircraft – and the world’s noisiest spy plane.

Last week, the Bear appeared in various British news outlets as two of them were escorted off the UK coast by RAF fighters. It was a traditional, routine patrol for Bears during the height of the Cold War – a routine Russia has recently reinstated. Yet the story of why the Russian Air Force continues to rely on this machine nearly 60 years later is more interesting than the sensationalist headlines.