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Raptors hold 1st joint drill with Japan

NAHA, Japan — U.S. Air Force F-22A stealth fighters took part in a joint dogfight drill with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force for the first time Friday in airspace south of Okinawa Island.

A squadron of Raptors, has been deployed since February at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for the first time outside of U.S. territory on a temporary basis through May.

Japan’s Defense Ministry is hoping to learn about the F-22A and its performance through the drill as it views the Raptor as the top candidate for succeeding the F-15 as Japan’s mainstay fighter, defense officials said.

Two F-22As and two F-15s of the U.S. Air Force, and four F-4s and four F-15s of the ASDF took part in Friday’s drill. After taking off from the Kadena and Naha bases, the fighters engaged in dogfight exercises, the officials said.

Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron, told a press conference after the drill that the joint exercises with the F-22s, along with other U.S. fighters, must have brought great merit to the ASDF and helped deepen the two sides’ mutual understanding.

Kazunori Haga, who took part in the drill in an F-15 as head of the ASDF squadron from the 6th Air Wing in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, said, “The F-22A was an aircraft of wonderful performance, being difficult to be detected and highly mobile.”

The Raptor features capability to evade radar detection and is equipped for ground attack, electronic attack and signals intelligence roles.