Seven Chinese military aircraft flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) Thursday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
The sortie comprised of one Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, one H-6 bomber, four Shenyang J-16 fighter jets and one Sukhoi SU-30 fighter.
In response, Taiwan scrambled a combat air patrol, sent radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese military planes, the MND said.
Following an increase in the frequency of intrusions by Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ over the past few years, the MND started publishing a tally of such flights on Sept. 17, 2020.
According to MND numbers, the highest daily number of Chinese aircraft sighted is 56 recorded on Oct. 4, 2021.
More than 39 aircraft were spotted on Jan. 23, 2022, the highest number this year.
