A JASDF Boeing (Mitsubushi) F-15J Eagle aircraft of the 305th Tactical Fighter Squadron takes off from JASDF Nyutabaru Air Base in Japan in 2024 to participate in a bilateral exercise with US forces. (USMC/Cpl Samantha Rodriguez)
A planned deployment of Boeing (Mitsubishi) F-15J/DJ aircraft overseas has been expanded in scope, the Japanese government has said.
A joint Japan-United Kingdom announcement in August revealed that a plan was under way to deploy F-15 aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to the UK for the first time. That plan has now been expanded to include the dispatch of JASDF aircraft to Canada and Germany for the first time, the Japanese Minister of Defense, Gen Nakatani, said on 12 September.
According to Nakatani, the deployment is intended to strengthen bilateral defence co-operation between the various countries. “In recent years, European countries such as Canada, the UK, and Germany have been steadily strengthening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, regularly dispatching fighter aircraft and naval vessels to areas surrounding Japan, as seen in the recent port call of the British Carrier Strike Group in Japan,” he said.
“In this context … the deployment of JASDF fighter jets to North America and Europe will embody our shared recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific regions is inseparable and interrelated,” he added.
The minister described the deployment as a “goodwill visit” that will last approximately two weeks. The deployment began on 14 September, according to Nakatani. “The decision was made after co-ordination among the various departments. As for when the decision was made officially, the training will begin on the 14th, but the order was issued on the 10th,” he said.
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