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JASDF Fighter Jets to Visit India for First Time

Three F-2A fighters will fly to India via Okinawa and Thailand for Veer Guardian 26, with the U.S. Air Force providing support including aerial refueling.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2A fighter aircraft. Three F-2As are scheduled to deploy to India in September for Veer Guardian 26.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) will send fighter aircraft to India for the first time in September to participate in a bilateral exercise with the Indian Air Force (IAF), marking another milestone in the deepening defense partnership between Tokyo and New Delhi.

The JASDF announced on August 25 that the bilateral exercise, Veer Guardian 26, will take place from September 9 to 21 at Jodhpur Air Force Station in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan and in surrounding airspace. The overall deployment period, including the journey to and from India, will run from September 1 to 30. 

The JASDF will deploy three F-2A fighters from the 8th Air Wing at Tsuiki Air Base in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, along with about 110 personnel. The exercise will primarily involve air combat training against fighter aircraft.

On August 26, a JASDF spokesman told The Diplomat that Veer Guardian 26 will be the second iteration of the bilateral fighter exercise, following the inaugural Veer Guardian 23 held in Japan in January 2023.

During that exercise, the IAF sent four Su-30MKI fighters, two C-17 transport aircraft, an IL-78 aerial refueling tanker, and about 150 personnel to Japan. The JASDF participated with four F-2 and four F-15 fighters. 

Three years later, the direction of travel will be reversed, with JASDF fighters heading to India for the first time.

The journey to India is itself a significant part of the deployment. The JASDF spokesman told The Diplomat that the three F-2As will fly from Tsuiki Air Base to Jodhpur via Naha Air Base in Okinawa and Thailand. The U.S. Air Force will provide support for the deployment, including aerial refueling.

The JASDF did not disclose the specific base in Thailand where the F-2As will stop, the segment of the journey during which U.S. aerial refueling support will be provided, or the type of U.S. tanker aircraft involved.

Jodhpur lies roughly 5,600 kilometers from Tsuiki in a straight line, underscoring the logistical challenge of deploying a fighter unit far beyond Japan.

Speaking at a press conference at Japan’s Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on August 25, JASDF Chief of Staff General Morita Takehiro emphasized the operational significance of such a long-range deployment.

The JASDF’s top officer said deploying fighters to distant locations involves not only long-distance flight operations but also maintenance, logistics, and personnel transportation, all of which must be conducted “in an integrated and systematic manner.” Such experience, he said, helps improve a unit’s ability to carry out its........

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