Japan sends F-15 fighters and support personnel to NATO bases in the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany
The first time in history that Japanese warplanes have been deployed to Canada and Europe.
An operation dubbed Atlantic Eagles, underway now, is a small but potentially very significant step toward integrating Japan’s military might into the NATO alliance. Four F-15 Eagles, along with 2 C-2 military transports and 2 aerial refueling aircraft, a KC-46A and a KC-767, are visiting Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, CFB Goose Bay in Canada, RAF Coningsby and Brize Norton in the U.K. and Germany's Laage Air Base.
This marks the first time in history that Japanese warplanes have been deployed to Canada and Europe. A total of 180 personnel from 4 different Japanese bases are traveling with the aircraft, and no doubt will be meeting their NATO counterparts and familiarizing each other with their procedures and practices. This can form a basis for further exercises aimed at building the capacity to operate together effectively.
My take is that we are seeing the world increasing aligning in 2 opposed camps, confronting each other globally, and Japan realizes that it cannot confine its defensive posture to the Asia/Pacific.
According to the Defense Post:
Tokyo is wary of the Ukraine war’s ripple effects in Asia, with Russia drawing on North Korean troops, Iranian drones, and Chinese support. Moreover, its long history with Moscow — from the Russo-Japanese War to World War 2 — adds weight to its concerns.
The move also underscores how far Japan has shifted from its postwar pacifist stance, as it joins NATO drills and opened its first mission to the alliance this year.
Alongside this deployment, Japanese forces are also participating in a joint military drill with US troops from September 11 to 25.
For its part, NATO has been increasingly active in the Asia/Pacific theatre, outraging Russia and China.
Moscow and Beijing's top diplomats on Tuesday [in April 2024] accused NATO of seeking ways to enter the Asia Pacific and warned the trans-Atlantic alliance against "stretching its hands to our common home."
Nonetheless, the process of integration continues. Via Newsweek:
Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at a press conference on Friday [Sept 12, 2025]: "In recent years, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other European countries have steadily strengthened their involvement in the Indo-Pacific region, such as regularly dispatching fighter jets and warships to the vicinity of Japan, as seen in the recent call of the British aircraft carrier strike group to Japan."
The F-15, first introduced half a century ago, remains the crux of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force with about 200 aircraft in its fleet, though it is also acquiring the advanced F-35 stealth fighters. Japan also flies the F-16J, a variant of the US-designed fighter that has incorporated various upgrades, especially to its electronics.Moreover, much of the F-15 fleet has received significant upgrades over the years and remains a potent weapon.
In the course of my decades of consulting, I have been exposed to a number of militarily relevant technologies in Japan and have a great deal of respect for Japan’s military capabilities. In particular, microelectronics and materials technologies are areas in which Japan has capabilities that may not be matched elsewhere. While Japan’s military budget has historically been targeted at 1% of GDP, that has recently been hiked to 2%, indicating the scope of Japan’s military build-up underway.
Japan’s military is also relatively top heavy, with a structure of officers and noncoms that could accommodate a rapid growth of armed personnel if needed.
The 180 JASDF personnel on this mission will return home with valuable knowledge and personal ties that will facilitate further integration.
Photo credit: JASDF
While the division of the world into two hostile blocs in uncomfortably reminiscent of the period leading to World War 1, if we are to continue on this path, I would strongly prefer that Japan integrate its impressive technological, organizational, and hardware resources with us and our other allies. For instance, Japan has recently unveiled a truck-mounted laser weapon capable of shooting drones – now seen to be an important part of the battlefield – which could end the wasteful and expensive of using expensive missiles to shoot down cheap drones.
Japanese are fierce warriors. It is preferable to have them with us then against us.
A little history (historians please correct errors). In the 9/12/25 AT Members Weekly Newsletter J R Dunn’s column is Bogus history; or, Tucker’s war, which is about WWII. In it he debunks the idea that FDR deliberately allowed the Pearl Harbor attack. My own belief is that FDR was applying pressure to Japan by embargoing oil and raw materials to incite military response. Because of the German-Japanese pact, such action would, and did, thwart Hitler’s strategy of carefully maintaining US neutrality. FDR foresaw that a Nazi-fied Europe would be terrible, but he had to contend with a large segment of the US voters who had lived through WWI and wanted no more war. But if Pearl Harbor were known, the battleships wouldn’t have been left as sitting ducks. In WWII the Japanese demonstrated that they had the weapons, manpower and military leadership to be a formidable opponent. But they didn’t have the staying power of the US, whose homeland was never a battle zone. It’s fortunate that their civilian leaders took control away from their military and avoided a scorched-earth close of hostilities. Also fortunate is that MacArthur’s post war Japan, give him credit, whatever the details, cemented US-Japan’s long-standing friendship. Which leads to your treatise, Thomas, and to FF’s comment.
Thomas, I was delighted to see that your column is one of Lucianne’s Saturday, September 20, 2025, Must Reads.