Long-range bombers from Russia and China have conducted “joint patrols” over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, with South Korean and Japanese fighter jets being scrambled to intercept them. While combined bomber missions of this kind are by no means unprecedented, today’s exercises included Russian and Chinese aircraft landing on each other’s airfields, for the first time in this type of exercise, in a sign of expanding cooperation.
At least some of the Russian aircraft involved landed at an undisclosed Chinese airbase, reportedly in Zhejiang Province, as evidenced by multiple videos showing Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Tu-95MS Bear-Hs over China. Clearly, the distinctive drone of the bomber’s huge turboprops captured the attention of many observers.