Japanese Air Self Defense Force officials say they have sent fighters aloft 30 times in the last seven months against encroaching Chinese aircraft. The rate is more than twice the scrambles in the same period last year. According to the Associated Press, Japan has tracked the scrambles against specific countries since 1995, and the record against Chinese aircraft was 30 during all of 1998.
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
