U.S. Air Force Joins Japan-Australia Drill for 1st Time

Misawa, Aomori Pref., Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force kicked off their “Bushido Guardian” joint exercise in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday. The Japan-Australia exercise is joined by the U.S. Air Force for the first time. A total of 38 aircraft are participating in the ongoing exercise, including eight F-35A state-of-the-art stealth fighters from each of the three countries. Through the exercise, the ASDF and the U.S. and Australian air forces aim to improve their joint response capabilities and interoperability. Commanding officers from the three countries held a joint press conference at the ASDF’s Misawa Air Base in the prefecture on the day. Lt. Gen. Masahito Yajima, commander of the ASDF’s Air Defense Command, said that F-35A fighters have extremely high capabilities but have been unable to fully show their abilities at the moment. In this regard, sharing knowledge and expertise is a major goal of the exercise, he added. Harvey Reynolds, deputy chief of the Royal Australian Air Force and air vice marshal, said that training, planning and thinking together is important in order to unlock the true potential of the F-35A. No country can act alone under the current complex security environment, Col. Paul Davidson, commander of the U.S. Air Force’s Misawa Air Base, said, highlighting the need for the three countries to work together to counter threats, apparently with Russia, China and North Korea in mind. The Bushido Guardian is slated to last until Oct. 10. According to the ASDF, the defense ministers of Japan, the United States and Australia agreed in May 2024 to carry out tripartite exercises using the countries’ F-35A fighter jets. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]