Japan plans to deploy its fighter jets to India for the first time as the two countries will hold a joint air exercise next month, Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force said.
The ASDF’s three F-2A aircraft will join the Indian Air Force in the Veer Guardian 26 exercise, scheduled from Sept. 9 to 21, around an airbase at Jodhpur in the northwestern state of Rajasthan.
“It will be a great opportunity to further deepen mutual understanding and relationship of trust,” Takehiro Morita, chief of staff of the ASDF, said.
About 110 personnel of the 8th Air Wing stationed at Tsuiki Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, will take part in the joint exercise.
Earlier in the month, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited India and held talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region. The two ministers agreed to deepen cooperation through joint exercises.
The two Asian countries held a joint air exercise in January 2023 in Japan, in which fighter jets of the two countries participated.
