A Chinese fighter jet and a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft had an “unsafe and unprofessional” interaction as the two operated over the waters of the South China Sea, Canberra officials said Monday.

A single burst of light in the skies can be life or fatal. On October 19, 2025, a Su-35 fighter from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLA-AF) released flares perilously near a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft on patrol in the South China Sea.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed deployment of a Boeing E-7A Wedgetail to Poland, where the airborne early warning aircraft supported NATO operations and reportedly helped detect Russian incursions into European airspace.

The Australian government is urgently seeking a response from Beijing after it was revealed a Chinese fighter jet had engaged in an “unsafe and unprofessional” act against a Royal Australian Air Force plane in the South China Sea.

Its most sophisticated military surveillance plane was used repeatedly in the last three months as part of NATO efforst to monitor Russian activity.

China's Defense Ministry said the exercise aims to enhance capabilities and deepen mutual trust and cooperation with Thailand.

In a significant display of interoperability, pilots from the US and UK seamlessly flew on Australian F-35s, demonstrating the flexibility to put any pilot in any F-35. In a significant display of interoperability, pilots from the US and UK seamlessly flew ...

The head of capability for the Royal Australian Air Force says his service has no qualms about the reliability of its US-made Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters. Speaking at the Avalon air show near Melbourne on 27 March, Air Vice-Marshal Nicholas Hogan ...