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 Air Force achieved its goal of recruiting 32,750 Active-Duty enlisted Airmen for 2026 five months ahead of schedule, military officials said this week—its biggest recruiting year in more than two decades.