An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | Sept. 25, 2023

Generate Airpower, Check: Kadena ACEs no-notice exercise

By Tech. Sgt. Micaiah Anthony, 18th Wing Public Affairs

The U.S. Air Force’s ability to rapidly generate airpower at a moment’s notice was put to the test at Kadena Air Base, when the 18th Wing conducted a no-notice agile combat employment exercise Sept. 22, 2023.

Airmen from the 18th Wing partnered with deployed Airmen from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to launch multiple F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-35A Lightning IIs without prior notice to test the base’s ability to rapidly generate and disperse airpower.

“ACE relies on our team’s ability to quickly mobilize our aircraft from large, centralized hub bases to networks of smaller, dispersed, spoke locations to increase survivability and complicate potential adversary targeting,” said Col. Joshua Lundeby, 18th Wing deputy commander. “Through training like this, we remain postured to deter, deny and defeat any threat to regional stability, our nation, and its allies and partners.

Airmen were tasked with getting Kadena’s diverse fleet of fighter aircraft prepped and ready to launch as though they were being dispersed to spoke locations. Once the fighters taxied, or launched for regularly scheduled training sorties, they were considered ‘departed’ for purposes of evaluation.

The exercise showcased the capabilities of U.S. Airmen across the spectrum of operational, maintenance, and support specializations.

“This wasn’t a small feat, we brought highly skilled Airmen from four different fighter maintenance units across the globe and asked them to tackle safe, compliant and efficient ACE,” said Col. Randy Schwinler, 18th Maintenance Group commander. “I am extremely proud of their performance."

As the Keystone of the Pacific, Kadena’s strategic size and location make it a pivotal installation for ensuring the defense of Japan and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Through realistic training like this exercise, Kadena Airmen are honing skills necessary to keep pace with evolving threats to the U.S. and its allies and partners.

“Exercises like this enable decentralized execution by empowering our Airmen to refine their abilities and provides them with opportunities to innovate or adapt new techniques while increasing efficiency within mission command,” Schwinler added.

Kadena is currently hosting deployed fighter units from across the Air Force to ensure uninterrupted fighter coverage at the base through the phased departure of Kadena’s venerable fleet of F-15C/D Eagles.

Having multiple fighter types operating together out of the same base present unique challenges to Team Kadena, but it also brings significant opportunities to train and enhance operational readiness.

“The array of fighters in this theater provides us with more opportunities to integrate with our regional partners,” said Col. Henry Schantz, 18th Operations Group commander. “Paring those distinct capabilities with ACE gives us an increased strategic advantage, ultimately strengthening our combat capability in defense of Japan and the Indo-Pacific region.”

CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
Twitter
354,238
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Pacific Partnership Returns to Tonga for the First Time in Ten Years
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (Nov. 13, 2023) – Pacific Partnership 2023 leadership, Pacific Partnership 2023 staff and Kingdom of Tonga government representatives pose for a group photo after opening ceremony held at International Dateline Hotel in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Nov. 13. Now in its 18th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deirdre Marsac)
Nov. 14, 2023 - Pacific Partnership has arrived in Tonga to conduct the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific, Nov. 13...

Pacific Partnership 24-1 concludes first mission stop in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. David Buzzatti, director of the Reserve Medical Service Corps., is piped aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during the Pacific Partnership 2024-1 closing ceremony for the Republic of the Marshall Islands mission stop Nov. 10, 2023. Pacific Partnership, now in its 19th iteration, is the largest multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific and works to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Justin Ontiveros)
Nov. 14, 2023 - Multinational service members participating in Pacific Partnership 2024-1 (PP24-1) departed the Republic of the Marshall Islands aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) Nov. 14 following a 14-day mission stop in the...

Two U.S. Navy carriers join Japan destroyer on Multi-Large Deck Event in Philippine Sea
PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 7, 2023) Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), steam in formation with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) first-in-class helicopter destroyer, JS Hyuga (DDH 181), Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, USS Antietam (CG 54) and USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Kidd (DDG 100), during the Multi-Large Deck Exercise (MLDE) in the Philippine Sea, Nov. 7. Ronald Reagan is participating in the bilateral MLDE, which features the ships and aircraft of JMSDF Escort Flotilla 3, as well as the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 1 and Carrier Strike Group 5. MLDE is a multi-domain event that grows the already strong partnership and interoperability that exists between the JMSDF and U.S. Navy today. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Timothy Dimal)
Nov. 9, 2023 - The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) conclude a Multi-Large Deck Event (MLDE) in the Philippine Sea, Nov. 4-8, 2023...

US Air Force completes first commercial air-to-air refueling of fighter aircraft
A commercial KDC‐10 tanker aircraft refuels a U.S. Air Force F‐16 Fighting Falcon from the 51st Fighter Wing, enroute Commando Sling 23 at Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, Nov. 6, 2023. The aircraft can carry 247,000 pounds of fuel for refueling plus up to 100,000 pounds of freight or passenger payload. This groundbreaking event is the first ever contracted aerial refueling of Air Force fighter aircraft which took place to support the F-16s in Commando Sling 23, highlighting innovative initiatives for problem resolution. (Courtesy Photo)
Nov. 9, 2023 - The U.S. Air Force is shifting the way it builds and maintains readiness for flight operations by way of commercial enterprise...

Combined Forces Command underlines ironclad commitment during ceremony
Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson III, chief of staff, Combined Forces Command (CFC), presents awards to member of the Republic of Korea military during a ceremony honoring the 45th Anniversary of the formation of the CFC, on U.S. Army Garrison-Humphreys Nov. 7, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by: Cpl. Jorge Reyes, Eighth Army Public Affairs)
Nov. 8, 2023 - The Republic of Korea and the United States celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Combined Forces Command (CFC) foundation during a ceremony on U.S. Army Garrison-Humphreys, Nov. 7, 2023, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and...