TOKYO, Japan: Japan scrambled its fighter jets on Monday in response to a Russian IL-38 surveillance plane violating Japanese airspace three times near Hokkaido’s Rebun Island. The violations lasted for brief periods, with Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) deploying flares for the first time in response to such incursions, according to Defense Minister Minoru Kihara. Japan lodged a diplomatic protest with Russia, calling the airspace breach “extremely regrettable.”
The incursion marks the first publicly disclosed entry into Japan’s airspace by a Russian military aircraft since 2019. This incident follows a similar violation by a Chinese spy plane near Nagasaki in August, which Japan also condemned as a threat to its safety.
ASDF fighter jets, including F-15s and F-35s, issued warnings via radio to the Russian aircraft, deploying flares as a deterrent. Flares are typically used to confuse heat-seeking missiles but are also employed as warnings in such situations. Kihara mentioned that the Russian plane did not engage in any threatening maneuvers, but speculated that the incidents could be tied to joint Russian-Chinese military exercises in the region.