Improved version of China’s anti-sub warfare plane spotted on patrol near Okinawa

Japanese fighter jets scrambled to meet this Chinese military patrol aircraft, a new variant on the Y-9, over the East China Sea approximately 160 miles northeast of Okinawa on March 28, 2026. (Japan Joint Staff)

Japanese fighter pilots recently encountered for the first time an apparently improved version of China’s anti-submarine warfare aircraft, according to an aviation expert.

A variant of China’s Y-9 maritime patrol aircraft was spotted Saturday afternoon over the East China Sea about 160 miles northeast of Okinawa, according to a Japan Joint Staff news release Monday.

The aircraft appears to be the Y-9FQ, first spotted flying from a central Chinese factory in 2022 and officially unveiled last year, according to J. Michael Dahm, senior resident fellow for aerospace and China studies at The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

An undated photo shows an older version of a Chinese Y-9 patrol aircraft previously encountered by Japanese fighter jets. (Japan Joint Staff)

The aircraft differs from conventional Y-9s that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force has previously encountered in the area, according to the release. Those differences include the shape of the aircraft’s nose and additional antennas, a Joint Staff spokesman said by phone on Tuesday.

Some Japanese government officials may speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.

Dahm based his observation on photos of the aircraft and a reference photo of a Y-9 that the Joint Staff posted to its account on social media platform X on Monday.

Fighter aircraft from Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Southwestern Air Command scrambled to meet the aircraft, according to the release.

“The Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces will continue to collect information and conduct surveillance on military movements around Japan 24 hours a day and will take all necessary measures against airspace violations,” the release said.

China officially unveiled its Y-9FQ anti-submarine variant Sept. 3 during its Victory Day parade in Beijing celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II, flightglobal.com reported that day. It is the successor to China’s anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, the KQ-200, Dahm said by email Wednesday.

“Other than moving the KQ-200’s chin-mounted surface search radar into the nose of the Y-9FQ, the new anti-submarine warfare aircraft likely has upgraded electronics and combat systems,” he said.

The aircraft’s paint scheme indicates that the variant has reached full operational capability, Dahm wrote. It may belong to China’s naval air force 1^st Division, 11^th Air Regiment, based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, he added.

The aircraft shows China’s navy is addressing shortcomings in its anti-submarine and undersea warfare capabilities, Dahm wrote.

While not “a huge leap-forward in technology, the new aircraft represents China’s commitment to improve its anti-submarine warfare technology and address shortcomings across its undersea warfare system-of-systems,” he said.

The sighting shows that China is steadily improving its capabilities, especially in the undersea warfare domain, according to retired Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.

It provides “further evidence that the Chinese are a serious foe — now, and not someday in the future,” he said by email Tuesday.