Japan's fiscal year is calculated from April 1 to March 31 of the following year, so it is currently the beginning of the second half of Japan's fiscal year 2022. On October 14, the Japan Defense Ministry’s General Staff Supervision Department released relevant data on the emergency launch of the Japan Airlines Self-Defense Force fighter jet in the first half of the 2022 fiscal year. According to the announcement released by Japan, a total of 446 emergency launches between April 1 and September 30, 2021, which is much more than the 390 times in the same period last year. Among them, there were 340 emergency launches against China, 281 times in the same period in 2021, which is also a growth trend. Judging from the area where fighter jets were urgently launched, it was mainly Japan's so-called southwest airspace, which is the front line of East China Sea . There were 309 emergency liftoffs in half a year.
Japan Air Self-Defense Force currently has three fighter jets, namely 200 F-15J/DJ, more than 80 F-16WG and more than 40 F-35A fighter . Judging from the deployment and distribution of Japanese fighters, the so-called southwest air defense is mainly achieved through two bases. One is the Naha base in Ryukyu, where more than 50 F-15J/DJ fighters are deployed, and the other is the Shintahara base in Kyushu, where more than 20 F-15J/DJ fighters are deployed. In addition, there are 2 F-16WG fighter squadrons at the Chucheng base, which will also undertake part of the air defense mission in the southwest airspace. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force used about 125 fighter jets and carried out 309 emergency launches in half a year. It seems that Japan is running hard.
From the area where fighter jets were urgently launched and intercepted, it is mainly in the East China Sea, Miyako Strait and the airspace south of Miyako Strait. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force also responded to the combat cruise of the People's Liberation Army aircraft carrier Liaoning, and carried out the emergency liftoff of the F-15J/DJ fighter jets. The activity area was in the southern airspace of Yonago Island, and also included the Pacific airspace east of Ryukyu. At that time, the People's Liberation Army Liaoning ships were carrying out combat cruise missions in this waters. In addition to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's emergency liftoff of the fighter jets, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force also tracked and monitored the aircraft carrier . The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force began to watch from the East China Sea, thus trying to control the combat readiness capabilities of the People's Liberation Army's aircraft carrier .
Now the PLA has achieved normal combat cruise in multiple sea and airspace, so Japan must adapt to changes, otherwise the fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force will not be able to withstand consumption. From the data released by Japan, it can be seen that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force will carry out the emergency takeoff of the fighter jets every day, which has long overwhelmed the F-15J/DJ fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. 202210174/Global Defense Observation/Ali, the F-15J/DJ fighter of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was introduced from the United States in the 1980s. The latest one also has a lifespan of more than 20 years. After high-intensity use, many F-15J/DJ fighters have been strengthened and have been continuously maintained.
PLA fighter jets not only perform missions in the East China Sea airspace, but also use fighter jets to enter the Western Pacific through the Miyako Strait to carry out missions. For this reason, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force also jumped up and down, and needed to use F-15J/DJ fighter jets for launching alert. Faced with the PLA's routine long-sea training tasks, the Japanese Ministry of Defense's unified staff supervision department also needs to publicly hype it up and announce the PLA's updates as soon as possible, which is actually asking for trouble. As the PLA's equipment level continues to improve, its training intensity is also increasing. Therefore, in addition to performing combat cruises in the East China Sea, it will also operate in the Pacific Ocean. This is a changing trend that Japan needs to face, so there is no need to carry out emergency launch of fighter jets.
