The forces carried out 161 training events as part of a common scenario, including eight live-fire drills in which Japanese and U.S. forces fired munitions from ships, airplanes and helicopters. Pilots flew 366 sorties, and personnel made about 130 parachute jumps.
Training took place in and around Okinawa, the Sakishima Islands and Tanegashima, as well as in the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and nearby waters and airspace. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the Philippines also took part.
Japan and the United States have held Keen Sword roughly every two years since 1986. This edition tested how their forces respond together on land, at sea and in the air, with training also covering space, cyber, electromagnetic and information operations and logistics.
“One of the purposes of Keen Sword is to train and test how Japan and the United States respond together under realistic conditions,” said Col. Mikio Kobayashi of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan-U.S. bilateral exercise director. “Through practical joint training, we are continuously strengthening Japan-U.S. coordination, interoperability, and joint response capabilities.”
“This exercise demonstrated our capability to provide the critical infrastructure required to support all partner nations collaborating on operational, medical, logistics, and sustainment initiatives,” said Rear Adm. Jay Clark, director of the exercise’s Bilateral Exercise Control Group. “The exercise allowed us to continue refining and improving resilient bilateral and coalition communication channels.”
