Japanese jets fire warning flares at Russian reconnaissance aircraft
For the first time in 60 years, Japanese fighter jets fired warning flares at a Russian reconnaissance aircraft that violated Japanese airspace, reports The Wall Street Journal. On Monday, the Russian Ilyushin Il-38 reconnaissance aircraft breached it three times.
The flares were fired during the third airspace violation by the Il-38 at approximately 7:42 AM Greenwich Time. The newspaper writes that this is the first time Tokyo has taken such an assertive stance against violations of its airspace, which are mainly committed by Moscow.
According to Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, this measure was taken after multiple warnings were directed at the “opponent.” He also emphasised that the aircraft was not performing any potentially dangerous manoeuvres.
They fired warning flares
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, this is the first time in 60 years that Japanese fighter jets have fired warning flares at a Russian reconnaissance aircraft.
On Monday, 23rd September, the Il-38 entered Japanese airspace three times, between 5 AM and 8 AM Greenwich Time, and flew over waters near the volcanic Rebun Island near Hokkaido. The Russian authorities faced an "extremely resolute protest" from the Japanese side.
Violations of japanese airspace
According to WSJ, since the times of the USSR, Russian and Soviet military planes have most frequently violated Japanese airspace. They were responsible for 44 out of 48 such incidents. Other cases involve violations of Japanese airspace by Taiwanese and Chinese aircraft.
