By Ankit Panda
The Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) was placed on high alert and scrambled jets after two Russian long-range Tu-95 strategic bombers (comparable to American B-52s) flew the length of the Ryukyu Island chain on Sunday. According to Ria Novosti, the bombers did not violate Japanese airspace.
The Moscow Times, citing Japanese defense officials, further added that the two Tu-95s "flew northward along a group of islands near Okinawa Island in the direction Hokkaido.” The jets headed north toward Sakhalin Island. It further reported that the ASDF scrambled jets to respond to a Tu-142 long-range maritime reconnaissance anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft which also flew close to Japanese airspace.
The Japanese reaction to this sort of Russian activity has been observed for a while now. The ASDF has scrambled jets 105 times between July to September 2013 due to close-proximity Russian fly-bys.
Read the full story at The Diplomat