Official websites use .mil
Secure .mil websites use HTTPS
Marking the third iteration of the landmark exercise, Freedom Edge 25 expanded on previous trilateral exercises to enhance multidomain capabilities that play a key role in promoting our shared commitment of security, freedom, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific.
The five-day exercise seamlessly incorporated air and maritime training with cyber warfare and special operations capabilities to further enhance multi-domain capabilities, as the defense forces execute ballistic missile defense; defensive counter-air; anti-surface warfare; maritime interdiction operations; visit, board, search and seizure; counter-piracy, medical evacuation; and replenishment-at-sea operations.
"Freedom Edge is a trilateral field training exercise integrating three nations strategic guidance to build trust, improve understanding, share information and perspectives, and to ultimately assess and improve our combined warfighting capabilities,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Craig "Po" Rumble, warfighting exercises branch chief for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the lead planner and chief controller for Freedom Edge.
Participants executed a series of ‘firsts’ including a trilateral medical evacuation, blood tabletop exercise and a cyber tabletop exercise. Japan, Korea, and the U.S. provided ships, aircraft, medical professionals, and a notional casualty for a ship-to-ship air evacuation. The three nations leveraged the blood tabletop exercise to create a foundation upon which they could operate together in future crises, particularly when blood products are a critical lifeline for combat forces. During the cyber tabletop exercise the three nations collaborated to draft and refine tactical “communication flow” charts mapping out intelligence pathways.
The ongoing cooperation among all three nations demonstrates strength and an unwavering commitment to defending vital interests against shared threats by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, and deterring aggression. This approach is grounded in partnership, presence, and military readiness.
Trilateral exercises and operations like Freedom Edge exemplify our collective commitment to achieving and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Freedom Edge is a continuing effort among the three nations to make information sharing and interoperability routine, repeatable, and real. Freedom Edge turns policy into procedures, and procedures into muscle memory – so the U.S., Japan, and Republic of Korea can train and improve together," Rumble said.