US and Japanese military aircraft on Thursday conducted a bilateral aerial exercise off eastern Taiwan as part of a joint mission to bolster training, strategic deterrence and regional stability, the US Indo-Pacific Command (PACOM) said yesterday.
The US Air Force 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron — deployed as the first US Bomber Task Force to Japan — participated in the drills, the US Pacific Air Forces wrote on social media.
A B-1B supersonic strategic bomber, six Lockheed-Martin F-35A/Bs, two EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft and one KC-135 transport plane comprised the US part of the exercise, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from the US Pacific Air Forces’ Facebook page
They were joined by four Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces F-15Js, it said.
“This exercise strengthens the readiness of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and US armed forces, and further solidifies the deterrence and response capabilities of the US-Japan alliance,” the US Pacific Air Forces said.
Separately, the Japan Joint Staff Office in a statement said that Japan Air Self-Defense Forces held a joint training exercise with US forces in airspace encompassing the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean.
The drills were a response to rising threat levels in the environs of Japan and they included air defense tactical training, it said.
The 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron arrived at Japan’s Misawa Air Base on Tuesday last week, PACOM said in a previous statement.
“These deployments continue the enduring security cooperation with Japan and support our combined capability to quickly and decisively respond to any challenge presented in the Indo-Pacific,” it added.
Additional reporting by Liu Chieh-yu
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