The US F-22 fighter at Japan joint exercise
The U.S. fifth-generation fighters F-22 and F-35 made a splash at the recent, biennial US-Japan Exercise known as “Keen Sword” in Japan. The mid-November exercise saw the participation of 11,000 U.S. personnel from the U.S. Forces, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, the U.S. Army Japan and Marine Expeditionary Forces.
J-10 fighter jets from the August 1st Aerobatics Team of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force take off from a military base as they travel to Zhuhai for the upcoming China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, in Tianjin municipality, November 5, 2014. The exhibition will be held in southern Chinese city of Zhuhai of Guangdong province from November 11 to 16. Picture taken November 5, 2014.
The presence of lethal fighters were a warning of sorts for regional biggies like China and Russia with combat scenarios and strategies at the joint exercise sending clear messages aginst the duo, according to a report in Want China Times. The highlights were F-22s, stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, according to the Virginia-based Air Force Times. The Air Force showcased the most advanced stealth fighter at Japan and it flew at the training exercise as a show of deterrence and assured security in the region.
The F-22s flew from Kadena Air Base, which is located in a region. marked by maritime disputes at the South China Sea. The report claimed that the fighter was meant to “stun China”, where the U.S. military operations focused mostly on anti-submarine, over-water, air-to-air and defensive air battles, during the exercise. The joint exercise has been in vogue since the 1980s and commanded by the powerful U.S. military units of the Western Pacific region.
For Interoperability
“Keen Sword is designed to allow the U.S. and Japan to practice and coordinate procedures together and interoperability in all warfare disciplines,” explained Adm. John Alexander, commander of Battle Force 7th Fleet. “We will be be conducting anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, air-to-air and air defense warfare scenarios, as a combined force, ” he added.
The F-22s had been making news wherever it participated. It marked a stellar participation in the U.S.-South Korean exercise in Osan Air Base, some 60km south of Seoul, in 2013. It was an indirect message to North Korea and a display of the might of U.S. military power to China, the report recalled.
The prowess of advanced fighters had another spectacle recently, when the U.S military held an unprecedented joint training exercise involving integrated communication between advanced fighters at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on Nov. 19. The show was replete with offensive and defensive counter-air maneuvers and interdiction missions that will deter any rival, said the report.
