Japan will now scramble fighters once Chinese military aircraft take off from Shuimen, Fujian
Japan will now scramble its fighters from Naha once it detects Chinese military aircraft had taken off from Shuimen airbase, Fujian.
The new approach was taken after a policy review last year, news reports in Japan says. Previously, fighters were only scrambled after the Chinese aircraft approach Japanese airspace. In the past, those Chinese aircraft had taken off from Zhejiang province and fly towards Senkaku Islands but recently they came from Shuimen instead.
And instead of two fighters scrambled each time, Japan will now send four warplanes out during each scramble. In order to give early warning for the fighters to scramble, Air Self-Defense Force aircraft have been flying daily from sunrise to sunset over the East China Sea to monitor Chinese aircraft activities.
These measures will allow F-15s from Naha to reach the Senkaku Islands in time before the Chinese aircraft arrive over the area.
The Shuimen airbase in Fujian had been upgraded over the recent years, camouflaged aircraft shelters for up to 24 fighters were built on the western sector of the base. Chinese J-11 fighters can been seen at the base since the last decade.
The airfield is also protected by a long-range surface-to-air missile unit located up north. It used to be a S-300 air defense missile system before transitioning to the HQ-9 in late 2014.
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