A Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft flew alongside Russian IL-38 planes to practice destroying the decoy submarine.
While the United States, the UK, and Japan continue to carry out the collaborative Operation Highmast drills in the Pacific, NATO adversaries Russia and China are working on their own joint military exercise. The Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are striking “enemy” sea-based assets as part of the Maritime Interaction 2025 exercises. Earlier this month, US president Donald Trump revealed that two American nuclear submarines have been dispatched to “appropriate regions” following “provocative statements” made by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. While the “enemy” submarine targeted in the Russian-Chinese military drill was not specified as meant to be American, one can surmise the obvious.
According to Reuters, a Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft flew alongside Russian IL-38 planes to practice destroying the decoy submarine. “As a result of effective joint actions, the ‘enemy’ submarine was promptly detected and mock-destroyed,” Russia’s defense ministry announced. “After practicing anti-submarine tasks, the crews of the Russian and Chinese ships thanked each other for their fruitful work.” As tensions continue to build in the Pacific, Moscow and Beijing are strengthening their alliance to counter shared adversaries like the United States.
Introducing the Y-8
Serving as one of the most popular military and civilian transport aircraft in China, the Shaanxi Y-8 will not retire anytime soon. The medium-sized, medium-range plane is typically used for transport; however, an anti-submarine variant of this aircraft was revealed in 2012. Equipped with a large air-to-surface search radar, a magnetic anomaly detection tube, and an ISAR radar, this iteration functions as the People’s Republic of China’s anti-submarine warfare capability. According to Key Aero, this Y-8Q variant features four six-blade WJ-6C turboprop engines, providing a top range of 3,000 miles. Based on the aircraft’s torpedoes, depth-charges, and magnetic anomaly detector, the platform is used as a sub-hunter primarily.
Introducing the IL-38
Russia’s fleet of Ilyushin IL-38 anti-submarine warfare aircraft is an enhanced variant of the Soviet-era IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft that entered service with the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. While this platform is somewhat similar to the American-made Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft, only 50 or so “May” planes are believed to have ever been produced. Moscow’s fleet of IL-38s recently made headlines when a video depicting one of these Russian planes circling above a US aircraft carrier at low altitudes circulated on social media this spring. The Russian spy plane was reportedly intercepted and escorted in the vicinity of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, according to the US Navy spokesperson at the time.
About the author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: Dianov Boris / Shutterstock.com
