Japan's Kongo Participates in Pacific Dragon 2026, 7-Nation BMD Training Demonstrates Air Defense Network Against North Korea

In a photograph of the multinational fleet taken on August 4, what caught my attention first was not the name of a new ship, but that of an old one: the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kongo-class destroyer "Kongo." The list of participating vessels in Pacific Dragon 26, reported by Baird Maritime on August 18, includes the U.S. Navy's Flight III Arleigh Burke-class "Jack H. Lucas," the South Korean Navy's Sejong the Great-class "Jeongjo the Great," and the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class "Sydney," alongside this Aegis destroyer that was commissioned in the early 1990s.

This is not a nostalgic story. Pacific Dragon 2026, conducted by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Third Fleet, and the Missile Defense Agency, took place in the waters around Hawaii from August 6 to 13 and concluded on August 15. This was the 8th biennial BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) and IAMD (Integrated Air and Missile Defense) exercise. The participating countries included Australia, Chile, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and the United States. The Japan Maritime Staff Office also announced it as a multilateral missile defense exercise on August 18, highlighting that it is not merely an extension of U.S.-Japan-South Korea cooperation, but a broad tactical data link training through the Maritime Theatre Missile Defense Forum.

What the Numbers of the Exercise Indicate

The exercise period lasted for 8 days of actual operations, with preliminary port training involving interoperability training, training at the Pacific Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center, and preparations for the at-sea phase. According to Baird Maritime, participating assets included the Royal Australian Air Force's E-7A Wedgetail, the U.S. Navy's P-8A, F/A-18, MQ-9, and BQM-177A target drones. Additionally, the U.S. Navy publicly launched the ARAV-6 target missile. This means that the training was not just a lineup of vessels, but a comprehensive exercise testing detection, tracking, identification, engagement decision-making, and link sharing.

Notably, while the U.S. ship "Jack H. Lucas" is the latest Flight III vessel equipped with the AN/SPY-6 radar and Baseline 10, Japan's participation was with the "Kongo." Of course, the "Kongo" is a capable BMD ship that has undergone multiple upgrades and symbolizes the JMSDF's Aegis operational experience. However, reflecting on this exercise just after South Korea announced that North Korea had launched about 10 or more short-range ballistic missiles on August 20, the challenge of integrating the expertise of an older ship with the processing capabilities of new sensors within the same tactical network becomes apparent.

The Main Issue for Japan

Japan's BMD has long been described as a defense focused on North Korea's medium-range ballistic missiles. However, the recent issues are not limited to single ballistic missiles. The potential for simultaneous threats from short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and electronic warfare is a growing concern. This is why Pacific Dragon 2026 emphasized not only BMD but also IAMD. The era of solely tracking ballistic targets is practically coming to an end.

From the JMSDF's perspective, the competition for missions between SLOC (Sea Lines of Communication) protection and homeland air defense is becoming more intense. If Aegis destroyers are fixed to BMD, it creates gaps in the anti-submarine and air defense missions of escort flotillas. Conversely, if mobility operations are prioritized, the integration with land-based radar and the Air Self-Defense Force's PAC-3 units becomes even more critical. The construction plan for two Aegis-equipped ships aims to address this shortfall, but for the next few years, the real issue will be "how to operate existing ships."

The Distance with South Korean Ships

Another focal point is the relationship with the South Korean Navy. This time, South Korea participated with the new "Jeongjo the Great." Japan and South Korea are advancing immediate sharing of North Korean missile information, but a system that only operates when political relations are good is precarious. BMD operates in a world of minutes, and sometimes seconds, leaving little room for diplomatic reservations.

In my view, the value of Pacific Dragon lies not in the success of interceptions, but in revealing at what stage each country hesitates to share information.

The participation of Chile and Spain is also symbolic. The inclusion of European and South American navies in Pacific BMD training may seem limited in capability. However, from the U.S. Navy's perspective, it is significant to increase the number of ships that can use the same links, engagement procedures, and command vocabulary in future crises. For Japan, it indicates that the air defense network of the first island chain is not solely closed off by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, but is evolving into a broader maritime coalition training ground.

Remaining Blind Spots

However, it is also dangerous to overestimate this exercise. BMD training conducted in a controlled range around Hawaii is not the same as receiving simultaneous missile alerts in the Sea of Japan or the East China Sea. In a real combat environment where civilian air routes, fishing boats, merchant ships, electronic warfare, and political decisions overlap, the beautiful lines of tactical data links can quickly become chaotic.

What Pacific Dragon 2026 demonstrated is the fact that the multilateral BMD network has advanced. At the same time, it also means that the existing Aegis ships of the JMSDF will face further continuous burdens. Counting the number of launches by North Korea is easy. The real challenge lies in whether Tokyo, Seoul, Honolulu, and the CIC on the bridge can see the same threat picture and issue political permissions at the same speed within the minutes following a launch.

Key References

• Baird Maritime, US, allies conduct ballistic missile defence exercise Pacific Dragon 2026, August 18, 2026
• U.S. Navy and U.S. Pacific Fleet announcement, U.S., Allies, Partners Executed Pacific Dragon 2026 Exercise
• Missile Defense Agency announcement, Pacific Dragon 2026 concluded on Aug. 15
• Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force announcement, Multilateral Missile Defense Exercise Pacific Dragon 2026, August 18, 2026
• Reuters/AP report, North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launch on August 20