This constitutes one of the largest single presence of Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace in recent years.
Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) fighters intercepted four nuclear-capable Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four Sukhoi Su-35S (Flanker-E+) multirole fighter jets flying in two separate formations over the east and west coasts of Japan on February 15, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement. The intercepts took place in international waters and Japanese airspace was reportedly not violated.
The February 15 flights constitute one of the largest single presence of Russian military aircraft near Japan since Russia resumed regular long-range patrols in East Asia in 2014 following the deterioration of Russia-Japan diplomatic relations as a result of the Russian intervention in Eastern Ukraine.
Russia usually dispatches its Tu-95MS bombers in pairs. The last exception to that took place in January 2017, when JASDF fighter jets intercepted three Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers circumnavigating the major islands — Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu — of the Japanese archipelago.
