Netherlands deploys combat aircraft to Japan for first time

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-35A Lightning II taxis as a Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force (RNLASF) Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport takes off during Exercise ‘Kazaguruma Guardian 26' at Misawa Air Base, Japan, on 23 March 2026. (USAF/Senior Airman Gavin Hameed)

Aircraft of the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force (RNLASF) have deployed to Japan for the first time to participate in a Tokyo-led trilateral military exercise involving fifth-generation air power capabilities.

Under Exercise ‘Kazaguruma (Windmill) Guardian 26', the RNLASF began operating four Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft and one Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) from Misawa Air Base in northern Japan from 23 March, according to Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Smaal, commander of the RNLASF's 322 Squadron.

During the exercise, which runs until 3 April, RNLASF aircraft will operate alongside Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and US Air Force (USAF) combat aircraft on co-ordinated air combat operations to develop tactics to confront adversarial “fifth-generation fighter aircraft with similar capabilities”, JASDF Chief of Staff General Hiroaki Uchikura said in a statement earlier in March.

Eight F-35A aircraft of the JASDF's 3rd Air Wing will “practice their tactical skills with the F-35 units of the Netherlands and the US” during the exercise, a Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesperson told Janes .

USAF units involved in the exercise include two F-35As and four Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons, according to the JASDF. A US Department of Defense (DoD) photograph of participating aircraft shows an F-16DM Block 50 aircraft. This variant is configured for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) ‘Wild Weasel' role.