The following day the P.R.C. scrambled PLANAF J-6 Farmer aircraft to intercept the Vikings. one of their S-3s soon joined up with the Chinese fighter aircraft which flew around them for around five minutes. The incident then soon ended. During the entire incident, the Han class submarine came as close as 21 miles (around 30 km) towards the Kitty Hawk Battlegroup, much closer than normal battlegroup operating procedures.