Japanese fighters use flares during QRA intercept

On 23 September F-15J and F-35A fighter aircraft from the Japan Air Self-Defence Force’s Northern Air Defence Force were scrambled to intercept and escort a Russian Navy Ilyushin Il-38 ‘May’ maritime patrol aircraft that violated Japan’s airspace north of Rebun Island off Hokkaido. During a five-hour patrol in the area the Russian aircraft strayed into Japan’s airspace three times, flying above Rebun Island, just off the coast of Hokkaido – the northernmost of Japan’s main islands.

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