Japanese fighter jets take off to intercept Russian anti-submarine aircraft
Japan deployed fighter jets to monitor a formation of Russian Tu-142 aircraft operating near its airspace.
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| Russian Tu-142 anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft. Photo: TASS. |
Fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) took off in an emergency yesterday after two Russian Tu-142 anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft approached the country's southwestern airspace. At the same time, a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft was also operating over the Sea of Japan,TASSreport
The Japan Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCSC) confirmed that the Russian aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace, and the interceptor fighters later returned to base safely.
JCSC said Moscow regularly deploys reconnaissance aircraft on missions near the Japanese border. During the period from April 2017 to March 2018, Japanese fighters monitored Russian military aircraft 390 times, 89 times more than the same period before. Russian aircraft mainly operated in the Sea of Japan, near Hokkaido and northwest Honshu.