Japanese military fighter jets sent warning flares towards a Russian military aircraft that is reported to have entered the country’s airspace. The Russian IL-38 patrol aircraft entered the territorial airspace three times near the island of Hokkaido, Monday, September 23, 2024, according to the Defense Ministry of Japan said at a press conference in Tokyo.
This is the first time flares have been used against an airspace intruder in Japan, according to Yoshimasa Hyashi, a Japanese government spokesperson at the press conference.