The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) has deployed its 5th generation F-35A Lightning II fighters to Pitch Black 2026, Australia’s largest air combat exercise, for the first time.
The occasion marks only the second time the JASDF has sent its stealthy F-35As to Australia’s shores.
Prior to their participation in Pitch Black the aircraft, supported by two Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning (AEW), took part in Exercise Southern Cross in the Northern Territory. Southern Cross is a high-end trilateral exercise between Australia, Japan and the US and is part of a series which includes Exercise Cope North in Guam, hosted by the US, and Exercise Bushido Guardian hosted by Japan.
The six F-35s are from the 3rd Wing, based at Misawa in northern Japan and Commander of the Flight Group Colonel Murao Taro, spoke with ADM on the sidelines of Pitch Black about his unit’s involvement in both exercises in the Top End.
“We have approximately 250 people deployed and Australia is a very nice training environment,” COL Murao said. “In Exercise Southern Cross we flew air defence and tactical attack missions. For Pitch Black, it’s the same weapons systems, the same understandings and so we can improve our tactical capabilities as much as we can, and it improves our mutual understanding.”
COL Murao said that Exercise Southern Cross was aimed at improving the interoperability between the F-35s of the JASDF, Royal Australian Air Force and US Air Force.
One of the scenarios of Exercise Southern Cross was the deployment of the JASDF’s F-35As to RAAF Base Tindal, to simulate a Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP) as part of the dispersed base operations concept.
“I went to Tindal to observe the FARP, where our F-35s were refuelled by Australian airmen,” COL Murao said. “We are still thinking about that concept [in Japan], because in this region everybody knows that an air base is not a sanctuary.”
The JASDF’s deployment to Australia for Exercise Southern Cross in late June was supported by its own Boeing KC-46A tankers, as well as RAAF Airbus KC-30As, and by the time Pitch Black 2026 concludes, the aircraft and personnel with have been based in the Northern Territory for six weeks.
In terms of training outcomes and lessons to take away from Pitch Black, which is focused on Large Force Employment (LFE) scenarios, COL Murao said that the coordination of such large formations is difficult to achieve in Japan, due to the number of countries and assets involved here.
“We have F-35As at Misawa, but the training area is relatively small and congested and the number of aircraft here is large,” he explained. “So, how to coordinate this is something we want to take back, to improve our capability.”
Part of this learning process has seen JASDF F-35A pilots fulfilling the role of Mission Commander during Pitch Black, responsible for the planning, execution and debriefing of some missions for the first time.
“We are using the opportunity to upgrade our pilots to Mission Commander here,” COL Murao detailed. “It’s an excellent opportunity to do that.”