South Dakota Airmen arrive ready to ‘Fight Tonight’ from Guam

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flew from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for a 10-hour mission, flying in the vicinity of Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the Korean peninsula, Aug. 7, 2017 (HST). During the mission, the B-1s were joined by Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15s as well as Republic of Korea Air Force KF-16 fighter jets, performing two sequential bilateral missions. These flights with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) demonstrate solidarity between Japan, ROK and the U.S. to defend against provocative and destabilizing actions in the Pacific theater. (Courtesy photo)

 

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, under the command of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, joined their counterparts from the Republic of Korea and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions, August 7.

This serves as the first mission for the crews and aircraft recently deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in support of U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence missions.

China flies military planes over strait near Japan

Beijing (AFP) – China has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea.

More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan’s Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China’s defence ministry website.

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.

Japan protests after ‘Russian’ plane enters airspace

Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow after it scrambled four fighter jets to intercept a foreign aircraft — believed to be Russian — which briefly violated its airspace, government officials said Wednesday.

The foreign ministry made the protest shortly after the plane entered Japanese airspace off the coast of the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, near a disputed island chain, Tuesday afternoon.

Japan to shoot down foreign drones that invade its airspace

The Defense Ministry has drafted plans for the Self-Defense Forces to shoot down foreign drones that intrude into Japan’s airspace if warnings to leave are ignored, a source close to the government revealed Sunday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued his approval when Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera briefed him on the plan Oct. 11, the source said.

Japanese Self-Defense Force jets scramble Chinese bombers

Japan’s Defense Ministry on Sunday reported that two Chinese H-6 bombers were spotted flying around the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Even though the aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace, Air Self-Defense Force jets scrambled the fighter aircraft just the same, after the planes were also spotted overflying waters near the Okinawa islands.

Japan Scrambles Fighter Jets to Track Russian Bombers

From the state-run Russian propaganda outlet, RIA Novosti:

TOKYO, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace and over the disputed Kuril Islands on Monday, local media reported.

Two Tu-95 Bear bombers flew over the Sea of Japan moving from the Korean Peninsula, and proceeded along the Japanese archipelago to the north of Hokkaido. Another plane, the IL-20, flew over the Kuril Islands, NHK television said late Monday citing the Defense Ministry.

Japan Ready to Declare: We’ll Go First

TOKYO – Japan has no intention to go it alone in defending its territory or national interests from growing threats in the Asia-Pacific region. But an annual defense review released Tuesday and other recent developments signal an increasing willingness on the part of Japan to go it alone, first.

Japan plans to establish a new National Security Council that would streamline how and when Tokyo would use military force, appoint a senior officer to command troops from all three armed services, and formally designate a Marine Corps-like force to defend its vulnerable southwest islands.

Russia Joins China in Provoking U.S. Ally

As predicted in a previous post, the Soviets are testing the Japanese resolve. Consider it an unofficial Shanghai Cooperation Organization military operation. Taking it one step further, in the bigger scheme of things, the aim is two-fold:

1) To sow mistrust between Japan and the United States, whereas America will be portrayed as an ‘unreliable’ partner with no backbone, means or will to help. The military is rapidly disintegrating and can’t even afford to fuel it’s navy.

2) To have Japan gravitate towards an Asian union or eventually be under the SCO protectorate. With a nearly crippled US focusing mainly on a Middle East trap, Japan on its own would surely want to join Russia and China rather than go against it.

Although the Russian jets left Japan’s airspace without incident after a little over a minute, the incursion was significant in both its location and its timing. It happened near territory that has been disputed by Moscow and Tokyo since the end of World War II, when Russia took it from Japan. Japan calls the islands the Northern Territories and Russia calls them the Kurils. The incident occurred on Japan’s “Northern Territories Day,” when Japanese nationals traditionally rally to call for Tokyo to wrest the islands from Russian control.

This provocative Russian incursion into Japanese airspace follows a string of breaches by Chinese forces into separate territories that both Tokyo and Washington recognize as being administered by Japan. Defense and security agreements between the U.S. and Japan would require Washington to back Tokyo in the event of a military confrontation.

Russian fighter jets ‘breach Japan airspace’

From a larger picture perspective, it seems that the Soviets are sending Japan a message for their strategic partner China. This also seems to be Shanghai Cooperation Organization sabre rattling. If Japan can hold its own against the CCP, a partner needs to step in and test the resolve a little more.

Two Russian fighter jets have violated Japanese airspace, prompting Tokyo to scramble its own aircraft, reports say.

Japan lodged a protest after the planes were detected off the northern island of Hokkaido for just over a minute.

The incident happened after Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said he was seeking a solution to a territorial dispute with Russia over a Pacific island chain.

Some 40 Russian Bombers Exercise Near Japan Frontier

About 40 strategic bombers will participate in five-day drills in Russia’s Maritime Territory near the Japanese border, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Monday.

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Japan has been concerned by Russian warplane flights near its coast.

In early February, a total of five Russian aircraft, including two Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, two Su-24 Fencer reconnaissance planes and an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft flew close to Japanese territory, without intruding into its airspace, however.

Full article: Some 40 Russian Bombers Exercise Near Japan Frontier (Ria Novosti)