Japan To Send F-15S To Europe, Canada For 1St Time

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) (With Photo)
TOKYO, Sept 12 (KUNA) -- Japan will send Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) F-15 fighter jets for the first time to Europe and Canada starting on Sunday to deepen defense exchanges with partner nations, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced Friday.
Four F-15s from Chitose Air Base in northern Japan, along with transport and refueling aircraft, will be dispatched to the US, Canada, Britain and Germany until Oct. 1, Nakatani said at a press conference.
Nakatani expressed hope that Japan will further deepen cooperative relations with allies and like-minded countries through this dispatch, to realize the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
According to the minister, the mission is intended for unit-to-unit exchanges, including aircraft displays and personnel discussions, and no joint training is planned.
"In recent years, European countries such as Canada, Britain, and Germany have been steadily strengthening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, including by regularly dispatching fighter aircraft and naval vessels to areas surrounding Japan," the minister pointed out.
Nakatani emphasized the significance of the move, saying, "The deployment of ASDF fighter jets to North America and Europe will embody our shared recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is inseparable and interrelated." (end)
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