U.S. Air Force F-22s, F-15s pair with JASDF Eagle partners

by Senior Airman Maeson L. Elleman
18th Wing Public Affairs

4/15/2013 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- A squadron of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors from Langley Air Force Base, Va., partnered with F-15 Eagle pilots from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force from Naha Air Base, Japan, for bilateral training April 5.

The training, the fourth of its kind since 2007, gave both U.S. and Japanese pilots the opportunities to integrate fourth and fifth generation aircraft in support of the common defense of Japan and the Asia-Pacific theater, as part of the Mutual Security Treaty between the two nations.

"Training with such a high-technology aircraft improves our ability to fight and defend Japan," said Lt. Col. Hiroaki Murakami, JASDF 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron commander. "By training with the fifth generation aircraft and understanding their capabilities, we are able to improve our tactical skills. (Hosting the) bilateral training promotes mutual understanding and communication and leads to improved interoperability and a stronger U.S.-Japan alliance."

Lt. Col. Jason Hinds, 94th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, said training with the JASDF is an integral piece of the U.S. Air Force mission and to the strength of allied forces defending the Asia-Pacific region.

"Our training that we did with the JASDF yesterday and today absolutely helps the bilateral agreement that the U.S. and the Japanese have," Hinds said. "It's a unique opportunity."

Hinds said hosting the training has opened doors to the alliance for the mutual security of the Pacific and has further prepared both forces for any contingency in the region.

"The 94th Fighter Squadron and the U.S. Air Force are absolutely more prepared for any kind of contingency operation in the Pacific theater now that we've flown with the JASDF and due to our theater security package deployment to Kadena," Hinds said. "When we have that opportunity to go to Kadena, we get to see the locations that we would operate from, and we get to meet the people we would fly with in any kind of future contingency operation."

Though the squadron frequently works with other aircraft in day-to-day operations, the deployment to Okinawa to work with the 18th Wing's multiple airframes in addition to JASDF assets has provided an exclusive training experience for those involved.

"Usually when you fly with other fighters that are from a different base, you typically just meet up in the airspace, do the mission, and then debrief over the telephone," he said. "In this case we had the opportunity to meet with them the day before, talk about the tactics we would use, execute the tactics the day of, and then have a face-to-face debrief, and that (gave us the chance) to meet them on a personal level as well. That, to me, was the best part."

Murakami said he also enjoys the interaction with U.S. forces and hopes for the opportunity in the future.

"I think we should do more bilateral training, especially with the fifth generation aircraft, using every opportunity available," he said. "We were able to better understand bilateral operation procedures and learn about the force's employment that maximizes the characteristics of the fifth generation aircraft as the JASDF begins to integrate the F-35 into our fleet of fighter aircraft."

The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced in December 2011 that the Japan Self-Defense Forces will begin purchasing F-35 Lightning IIs in the near future.

The F-22s arrived at the beginning of this year and are slated to leave in the spring.