Japanese fighter jets fire flares after Russian military aircraft enters airspace

Japan alerted its fighter jets on Monday after a Russian surveillance plane entered Japanese airspace three times, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The Air Self-Defense Force's fighter jets used flares for the first time since Tokyo began taking action against such incursions.

Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said a Russian IL-38 patrol plane violated Japanese airspace off the island of Rebun 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 we have today lodged a strong protest with the Russian government through diplomatic channels, while urging them to prevent a repetition,” Kihara said at a hastily convened press conference at the ministry.

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

Responding to Monday's incidents, Kihara said ASDF F-15 and F-35 fighter jets issued radio warnings and fired flares during the third incursion by Russian aircraft – which he said is “a measure we can take in the event of a violation of our airspace.”

The flares are designed to confuse heat-seeking missiles, but are also often used to warn other aircraft. Kihara did not provide further details about the encounters, but said the Russian aircraft did not make any threatening movements toward the ASDF fighters.

However, the defense minister said it was possible that the incursions were related to joint military exercises between Russia and China in the region.