U.S. Air Force F-22 squadron arrives in southern Japan

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters from Alaska are operating from Tsuiki Air Base on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu as part of Keen Sword 27, the largest iteration so far of the biennial U.S.-Japan military exercise.

A photo released by the U.S. military shows an F-22 from the 525th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron parked at Tsuiki on Oct. 19, 2026, the opening day of the exercise. The squadron deployed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, home to the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 units in the Pacific.

The F-22 is a fifth-generation air superiority fighter built to hide from enemy radar and win control of the skies, and its presence at a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base brings one of the U.S. Air Force’s most capable jets into close training with Japanese forces on their home territory.

Keen Sword 27 runs from Oct. 19 to Oct. 29 and involves roughly 45,000 Japanese personnel and about 12,000 American service members, along with close to 300 aircraft and ships. Japan’s Joint Staff said the drills take place at Japanese and U.S. military facilities, civilian airports and ports, and in the sea and airspace around Japan, with the stated goal of training both countries’ forces to respond together to a range of contingencies.

The U.S.-Japan bilateral exercise series began in fiscal year 1985, and Keen Sword 27 is its 18th iteration. The 2026 edition is significantly larger than the 2024 exercise, which involved about 33,000 Japanese personnel, 30 ships and 250 aircraft.

Much of this year’s activity is focused on the defense of Japan’s southwestern islands, which stretch toward Taiwan. On Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island about 110 km (68 miles) from Taiwan, the U.S. Marine Corps has deployed its NMESIS ground-based anti-ship missile system and the MADIS short-range air defense system for the first time, while Japan has brought its new Type 25 surface-to-ship missile to the island, with a range of about 1,000 km (620 miles). Japanese officials said no live firing of the Type 25 is planned during the exercise.

The U.S. Navy is also taking part with major surface forces, including the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), the cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) and the destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73), which docked at Yokosuka ahead of the drills.

The exercise program covers air and ballistic missile defense, parachute and amphibious landings, casualty evacuation, logistics, facility protection and operations in space and cyberspace. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the Philippines are listed as participants this year, several of them stepping up from observer status in 2024, while South Korea and the United Kingdom have sent observers.

The F-22s at Tsuiki are scheduled to train alongside Japanese forces through the end of the exercise on Oct. 29.