Through a brief statement published on its official channels, the Russian Aerospace Forces announced that their Tu-95MS strategic bombers conducted the first long-range patrols of the year, with the Sea of Japan as the operating area. According to the available information and multimedia material, the mission lasted a total of 11 hours, during which the aircraft were escorted by Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters to ensure their security while flying through international airspace.
Emphasizing this point, the institution stated: “All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict compliance with international rules governing the use of airspace.” It was further added that this was a flight planned in advance, as had occurred last year during the months of January, August, and October, and therefore was not directed against any specific nation. However, Japanese local media have already expressed suspicions regarding a potential deterrence message aimed at the United States and its regional allies, given that these are aircraft with significant strike capabilities.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that the Tu-95MS bombers’ mission comes just days after Japan’s Joint Staff Office indicated that during 2025 there was a drop of up to 14% in the number of deployments of Japanese aircraft to respond to the presence of Russian and Chinese aircraft in its Air Defense Identification Zone, with a total of 448 scrambles recorded compared to 521 in 2024; clarifying that the period assessed runs from April 1 to December 31 in both cases.
Looking more closely at these figures, it can be observed that of the 448 cases, some 304 correspond to the monitoring of aircraft deployed from China, accounting for 68% of the total. As for their Russian counterparts, 130 cases were recorded, representing around 29%, while the remaining 3% was attributed to the “Other” category, grouping countries that sporadically conducted operations near the island nation (with Taiwan cited as an example of the latter).
Focusing on the Russian flights included in the report, it is worth highlighting that most of these sorties were carried out in the northern and northwestern regions of the country, mainly around the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. In the case of joint patrols conducted by Russian and Chinese aircraft, the data reveal that most took place near Japan’s southwestern region, resulting in routes between Okinawa, Miyako Island, and Yonaguni.
*Image credits: Russian Ministry of Defense
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