Chinese and Russian Intelligence Aircraft Escalate Operations Around Japan Amid Major U.S.-Led Exercises

Chinese and Russian military intelligence aircraft conducted five flights near Japan over four consecutive days from October 20 to 23, prompting the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to scramble fighter aircraft in response. According to Japan’s Joint Staff, the activity involved three flights by Chinese Y-9 aircraft and two by Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. No violations of Japanese airspace were reported. On October 20, a Chinese Y-9 patrol aircraft flew from the East China Sea through the passage between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako-jima into the Pacific, continuing towards waters off Amami Oshima before turning back. A second Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft conducted a round-trip flight over the East China Sea between waters south of the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture and an area northwest of Okinawa’s main island. Another Chinese Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft flew a similar route through the Okinawa–Miyako passage on October 21.

Russian aircraft followed on October 22 and 23, when Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft flew from the direction of the mainland across the Sea of Japan towards waters off Shimane Prefecture on the western coast of Honshu before turning back. Japanese fighters were scrambled on both occasions. The Il-20 is a turboprop aircraft configured for electronic and signals intelligence collection, while China’s four-engine Y-9 platform has been adapted for several military roles, including maritime patrol and intelligence gathering. The flights coincided with Exercise Keen Sword 2027, a large-scale joint exercise between Japan and the United States running from October 19 to 29. Japan planned to commit approximately 45,000 personnel, 260 aircraft and 40 vessels to the exercise. 

Russia in August conducted a missile exercise near the Japanese-claimed Kuril Islands, shortly after President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the territory, with the Bastion coastal defence missile system striking simulated enemy naval targets at a distance of at least 300 kilometres. The drill added a military dimension to an already worsening diplomatic dispute between Moscow and Tokyo. The exercises closely coincided with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s scrambling of F-15 fighters to intercept a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft conducting a flight through the East China Sea. The engagement occurred near Okinawa and the Taiwan Strait. Japan has faced growing pressure on its defences since the Sanae Takaichi administration came to power in late 2025, as Tokyo has taken significantly more hostile positions towards both Beijing and Moscow and aligned itself more closely with the United States.