Special Report: China conducts special mission aircraft flights in Japan ADIZ

This infographic shows publicly disclosed Chinese special mission aircraft operations conducted between 28 February to 9 September 2026. (Japan MoD/Janes)

Chinese special mission aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted repeated intelligence-gathering missions over the East China Sea near Japan's Ryukyu (Nansei) Island chain in 2026, according to data published by the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD).

In operations that began in February 2026, the PLA's Shaanxi Y-9-based ‘High New' series special mission aircraft and Tengden TB001 Twin-Tailed Scorpion unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flew at least 16 sorties over waters east of Okinawa and south of Kyushu.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) responded to the activities by scrambling aircraft on multiple occasions, the MoD said.

Most JASDF scramble and monitoring activities were in response to Chinese and Russian air activity, MoD data up to August 2026 show. According to the data, China generated more scrambles than Russia in each of the first four months of fiscal year (FY) 2026, before Russian air activity subsequently took the lead.

During 1-6 September, however, Chinese activity surged, with the PLA flying five sorties with its relatively new Y-9Z special mission aircraft.

Y-9Z takes lead

The Y-9Z, which entered service with the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) in 2022, is a multirole intelligence-gathering and airborne psychological warfare platform.

Featuring antennas associated with electronic support measures (ESM), communications intelligence (COMINT), synthetic aperture radar-ground moving target indication (SAR-GMTI), and electronic intelligence (ELINT) systems, the Y-9Z is among the first of a new generation of special mission aircraft developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).