By Focus | 2025-08-08

Air forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other Indo-Pacific partners have completed the largest contingency response exercise ever undertaken in the region, bolstering collective readiness and combat interoperability in a show of strength amid rising tensions with China.

From July 10 to August 8, Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) involved over 12,000 personnel and 400 aircraft across more than 50 locations spanning 3,000 miles, including Guam, Hawaii, Japan and international airspace.

The exercise, led by the US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), is part of a "first-in-a-generation" Department-Level Exercise (DLE) series enabling the US Air Force (USAF) to conduct large operations in contested, dynamic environments, the service said in a statement July 17.

"This is a logistical movement at an unprecedented scale -- an explosive surge into the theater driven by precision and a resilient joint network," said Brig. Gen. Mike Zuhlsdorf, PACAF's director of logistics, engineering and force protection.

"What makes it exceptional is the partnership with local leaders abroad, as well as infrastructure; their participatory enthusiasm has turned REFORPAC into a truly integrated regional effort," he added.

REFORPAC united forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain.

This wide participation highlighted a growing Indo-Pacific consensus on the importance of combined readiness and defense.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) stated on August 5 that participating in the exercise improved its tactical skills and strengthened the Japan-US alliance's deterrence and response capabilities. It added that it will "continue working together with the US Forces to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific," underscoring the drill's significance for regional security.

Interoperability in practice

Throughout the month-long drills, participating units conducted a broad range of tactical missions, including fighter deployment and rapid maneuver operations, airfield damage repair, aeromedical evacuation and joint refueling and mobility exercises.

Key training sites in Japan included Chitose Air Base, Misawa Air Base and the Komatsu and Matsushima airfields.

For the first time, US F-35A Lightning IIs from the 421st Fighter Squadron operated out of Matsushima, simulating combat deployment and sustainment in an unfamiliar location.

"Matsushima is just one of the locations we tested during REFORPAC, and the success of this fighter integration proved our collective ability to defend Japan during a real-world contingency," Capt. Trey Elletson, 35th Air Expeditionary Wing Base Operating Support–Integration lead, said in a US Air Force statement on August 4.

"This massive effort with both US and Japanese forces helped us to practice while working together in stressful situations," he added.

"With Japan's support, we have even more effective strategies to withstand an attack at home base, spread out, and then respond to threats against our allies in this region."

"We've trained for this kind of mobility, but REFORPAC was the real proving ground," said Airman 1st Class Jacob Olin, an F-35 Lightning II crew chief.

"We brought in gear, established connectivity, and sustained ops in an unfamiliar location -- all while coordinating with our JASDF counterparts."

Strategic Posture

In his first official meeting as JASDF's new chief of staff, Gen. Takehiro Morita welcomed Lt. Gen. Stephen F. Jost, commander of US Forces Japan, at Yokota Air Base on August 4.

The two reaffirmed the need to deepen US-Japanese coordination and alliance-based deterrence.

In an August opinion article in Breaking Defense, Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces, said that China, North Korea and Russia are "all capable of presenting challenges to the United States and other Indo-Pacific nations."

Beijing's military buildup and coercive tactics towards Taiwan and regional allies, alongside provocations from Pyongyang and Moscow, highlight the value of "deterrence, rooted in credible combat capability" --the objective of REFORPAC, he said

"Deterrence demands that we stay ahead of potential aggressors. We do this every day, by advancing our strengths, our capabilities, and our unmatched partnership with others," he wrote, adding that "the REFORPAC exercise stands out as a demonstration of a strong commitment to peace through strength in the Indo-Pacific.