Japan Scrambles Fighter Jets And Fires Flares At Russian Spy Craft In A First

On September 23, in an uncommon occurrence, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) sent F-15 and F-35 fighter jets to engage a Russian IL-38 patrol plane that had inadvertently entered Japanese airspace. According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD), the aircraft made three separate entries into Japanese airspace between 13:00 and 15:00 local time, over the territorial waters north of Hokkaido’s Rebun Island. The length of the invasions varied from thirty to sixty seconds. Quickly responding, the JASDF sent out radio alerts and, in a first, used flares to scare off the Russian planes. Stressing the seriousness of the infringement, the MoD strongly protested diplomatically with the Russian government, requesting that such instances never happen again. By 17:50, the Russian patrol planes had finally departed the area and were returning to the mainland.

Following the flight of a Russian A-50 early warning aircraft over Takeshima, Shimane Prefecture, in June 2019, this is the first known breach of Russian airspace in Japan. It is part of a larger pattern of heightened military activity in the vicinity of Japan. Only one month before, Tokyo declared a major breach of sovereignty when a Chinese military aircraft violated Chinese airspace, prompting Japan to scramble warplanes in response.

Furthermore, the MoD disclosed that Chinese and Russian naval ships were cooperating on the same day in the S?ya Strait, a vital waterway between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin. These operations may be linked to greater Sino-Russian military collaboration, including planned joint exercises.

Japan’s airspace has been breached on several occasions, most of which were caused by Russia and the Soviet Union before it. The MoD has promised to maintain increased surveillance and is still keeping a close eye on the issue.