Japan Air Force fighters scrambled against North Korea aircraft for first time in four years

July 10, 2013 Military Aviation, North Korea

David Cenciotti

According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets were scrambled nine times against North Korean military aircraft between April and June, Japan Times reported on Jul.10.

These alert launches of Japanese fighter jets against North Korean planes were the first since 2009.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

Kim Jong Un planes flew over the Sea of Japan (which South Korea calls the East Sea), but did never violate the Japanese airspace, according to the ministry, that went on to say that the North Koreans were probably gathering information (using which kind of planes?) after the Japanese Navy deployed its AEGIS destroyer in the area against the missil launch threaths by Pyongyang.

Interestingly, between April and June, much more scrambles were launced by the JASDF against Chinese aircraft, 69, and 31 times the cause of the alert take off were Russian aircraft. From January to March, China’s Air Force aircraft caused 146 launches by the Quick Reaction Alert cells, amid tensions caused by the Senkaku Islands dispute in the East China Sea.

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.