Russian hypersonic jets buzz Japan’s coast in ‘thinly veiled threat’

2026-03-19 - 00:02

Russia’s defence ministry has released footage of its fighter jets carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles conducting exercises over the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, with the move interpreted as a message to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of her talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington. The video shows a MiG-31 with a Kinzhal missile slung beneath its fuselage, with the ministry saying the aircraft was one of several that carried out manoeuvres off Japan’s northern coast....