Japan Scrambles Fighters as Chinese Aircraft Fly Near Okinawa

AeroTime reported that Japan scrambled fighter jets on October 19, 2026, after two Chinese military drones and a Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft flew near Okinawa on the opening day of Keen Sword 27. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force said it scrambled fighters from its Southwestern Air Defense Force and photographed all three aircraft.

A BZK-005 reconnaissance drone and the Y-9 flew in from the East China Sea and passed between Okinawa’s main island and Miyakojima into the Pacific Ocean. A TB-001 reconnaissance and attack drone entered the Pacific between Taiwan and Japan’s Yonaguni Island, flew as far as waters off Amami Oshima, then turned back and exited between Okinawa and Miyakojima.