Japanese fighter jets fire flares after Russian military plane enters airspace

Japan deployed fighter jets Monday after a Russian reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace three times, the Defense Ministry said. It was the first time since Tokyo took measures against such incursions that fighter jets from the Air Self-Defense Force fired flares.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said a Russian IL-38 patrol plane violated Japanese airspace off the coast of Rebun Island in Hokkaido three times on Monday afternoon, for 1 minute, 30 seconds and 1 minute respectively.

“This violation of our airspace is extremely regrettable and today we have submitted a serious protest to the Russian government through diplomatic channels, while also urging them to prevent a recurrence,” Kihara said at a hastily arranged press conference at the ministry.

The air incursion was the first publicly announced incursion into Japanese airspace by a Russian military aircraft since 2019, Kihara said, and followed an incursion by a Chinese military spy plane off Nagasaki Prefecture late last month. Japan called the move “completely unacceptable” and said it considered the flight a threat to the country’s security.

In response to Monday’s incidents, Kihara said ASDF F-15 and F-35 fighter jets had issued warnings over the radio and fired the flares — which he said was “a measure we can take in the event of a violation of our airspace” — during the Russian plane’s third incursion.

Flares are intended to confuse heat-seeking missiles, but are also often used to deter other aircraft. Kihara did not provide further details about the confrontations, but said the Russian aircraft made no threatening movements toward the ASDF fighters.

However, the defence chief said it was possible the raids were linked to joint Russian military exercises with China in the area.