Chinese H-6 and Russian T-95 bombers flying near Japan. JSDF Photo
Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) fighters conducted 238 scrambles in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023, according to data released Friday by the Joint Staff Office of Japan’s Ministry of Defense. Read More
People’s Army Liberation Navy (PLAN) destroyer CNS Baotou (133), amphibious assault ship CNS Guangxi (32), frigate CNS Anyang (599) and fleet oiler CNS Chao Hu (890) Japanese Ministry of Defense photo
Russian Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships have been conducting separate, unrelated transits of Japanese straits and sails around Japan over the week, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Ministry of Defense releases.
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Anzac (FFH150) and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) helicopter destroyer JS Izumo sail together in the South China Sea as part of the Trident 23 exercise. JMSDF Photo
Australian and Japanese forces conducted exercise Trident 2023 over the weekend in the South China Sea. Read More
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) steams in formation with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Asagiri-class destroyer JS Umigiri (DD 158), Republic of Korea (ROK) Great-class destroyer ROKS Yul Gok Yi (DDG 992), Chungmugong Yi Sun-Shin-class destroyers ROKS Dae Jo young (DDH 977) and ROKS Choi Young (DDH 981), So Yang-class fast combat support ship ROKS So Yang (AOE 51), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) during a trilateral photo exercise on April 4, 2023. US Navy Photo
Japan’s three military branches will participate in the United States’ Large Scale Global Exercise 2023, according to a Wednesday news release from the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff Office (JSO). Read More
Type 12 Anti-ship missile
Japan’s Ministry of Defense signed four contracts worth a total of $2.83 billion last week with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for its standoff defense capability project, according to a Tuesday statement. Read More
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force CH-47 Chinook, lands on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) during a bilateral simulated casualty pick up in the Philippine Sea, March 10, 2023. U.S. Marine Corps Photo
Japan’s toughest hurdle, as it launches an unprecedented military modernization program and doubles defense spending, is the operational readiness of its air, naval and land forces, a former chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said Thursday. Read More
A China Coast Guard cutter off the coast of Pag-asa Island on March 3, 2023. Philippine Coast Guard Photo
China reduced the number of ships off the disputed Spratly Islands archipelago Pag-asa, according to officials in the Philippines. Read More
A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy off the coast of Pag-asa Island on March 3, 2023. Philippine Coast Guard Photo
A Chinese warship, a China Coast Guard ship and 42 Maritime Militia ships operated within the 12-nautical mile territorial sea around Pag-Asa Island, internationally known as Thitu island, in the Spratly Island archipelago Saturday, according to a Philippine Coast Guard statement. Read More
The Royal Australian Air Force’s first MQ-4C Triton. Northrop Grumman Photo
The Royal Australian Air Force will reactivate a squadron for the three MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles it will start operating in 2024, Australian Defense officials announced Friday. Read More
