By Focus | 2025-09-30

The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and US military recently concluded their largest-ever Resolute Dragon exercise, bringing together about 19,000 personnel from both countries in a nationwide display of alliance strength and interoperability.

Held September 11–25, the fifth iteration of the annual drill rehearsed crisis response and island defense scenarios across Japan, including the Southwest Islands near Taiwan. Units from eight prefectures participated in live-fire and joint maneuver training designed to sharpen combat readiness and deter regional threats.

"The Resolute Dragon exercises underscore our ironclad commitment to defend the interests of the United States and those of our Allies and partners," said US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force.

"By training alongside the [Japanese] Western Army in realistic, combat-focused scenarios, we sharpen the warfighting edge of our forces and present a clear, credible deterrent to any adversary who would threaten peace and security in the Indo-Pacific," Turner added.

New missile systems

Resolute Dragon 25 marked the first time the United States deployed two advanced missile systems to Japan for joint drills.

The US Army's Typhon mid-range capability system was positioned at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, southeast of Hiroshima.

Capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 2,500km and SM-6 interceptors reaching at least 240km, Typhon significantly extends allied strike options across sea and land.

Meanwhile, the US Marine Corps transported its Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to Okinawa aboard the USNS Guam in July, later airlifting it by Japanese C-130 to Ishigaki Island for the exercise.

NMESIS employs two low-observable Naval Strike Missiles mounted on an unmanned tactical vehicle, enabling mobile land-based anti-ship strikes from up to 185km away.

US forces had already been rehearsing NMESIS operations in Okinawa earlier in September, focusing on launcher viability and notional fire missions.

Capt. Kurt James, commander of the 12th Medium-Range Missile Battery, said in a statement September 3 those drills "validated the effectiveness of our collaborative defensive architecture" and refined coordination against potential threats.

Together with Japan's planned upgrades to its domestically made Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, which will see its range expanded to 1,000km by 2026, the systems represent a layered, integrated-fire capability to counter growing maritime threats.

Capabilities and deterrence

During the drill, Turner told reporters on September 17 that NMESIS would send "a clear message to any attempt to undermine regional security."

He emphasized its "inherent mobility and long-range precision strike capability, particularly its ability to conduct ship interdiction," as central to US littoral defense strategy.

Col. Richard Neikirk, commander of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, highlighted logistical cooperation as a key achievement, noting that the exercise tested the allies' ability to transport each other's equipment under combat conditions.

"All the capabilities that the US has, along with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, are complementary," he said September 20 at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.

Lt. Gen. Seiji Toriumi, superintendent of the JSDF Western District, addressed Japanese troops during the exercise.

"It is necessary to improve the effectiveness and credibility of the Japan-US alliance in island defense, strengthen deterrence and response capabilities, and demonstrate our strong commitment to defense both domestically and internationally," he said.

The deployments reflect Japan's response to "changes in the country's security environment and adjusting its approaches within the constraints it faces," Naoko Aoki, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation told the Japan Times.

At the same time, the United States aims to "get the Japanese public a bit more used to the idea that these types of systems may be necessary on Japanese soil," Aoki said.

Stronger together

The exercise deepened daily cooperation between the two militaries on the ground.

"By training together, next to each other, we're getting stronger every day, and I think that's really important to our relationship," said 2nd Lt. Sarah Bobrowski of the US Marine Corps 12th Marine Coastal Brigade.

For Japan, the timing of Resolute Dragon underscored its accelerating defense buildup.

Tokyo has pledged to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027 and move up deployment of the new Type 12 missile system by a year, citing mounting threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

"Japan faces national security circumstances which are the most serious and complicated since the end of World War II," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said last December.

First held in 2021, Resolute Dragon has quickly become the premier venue for Japanese-US military training.

This year's record participation of 19,000 troops, combined with the integration of cutting-edge missile systems, demonstrated the allies' ability to defend key maritime terrain and reinforce deterrence across the Indo-Pacific.