Japan defense force scrambled fighter jets 704 times in fiscal 2024

The Defense Ministry said Thursday that the Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets 704 times in response to possible airspace violations in fiscal 2024, up by 35 from the previous year. Of the total, scrambles against Chinese military aircraft accounted for 464, or 65.9%, down by 15. In August, Chinese military airplanes violated Japanese airspace off the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture for the first time. The number of Chinese drones detected by the ministry more than tripled to 30, exceeding the 26 detected between fiscal 2013, when the first Chinese drone was spotted, and fiscal 2023. "China may have developed a system to (fully) operate drones, upgrading from trial flights," a ministry official said.