DefenceTalkCAMP SOUMAGAHARA, Japan — American Marine Corps and Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces conducted aerial integration training using the Marines’ MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and Japanese CH-47 Chinook helicopters during exercise Forest Light 17-1 in the Soumagahara training area of Gunma prefecture, Japan, March 10, 2017. This portion of the exercise familiarized both nations’ forces with […]https://www.defencetalk.com/u-s-japanese-forces-train-together-during-forest-light-exercise-69474/

DefenceTalkThe Japanese and US navies are conducting joint exercises in the East China Sea as tension intensifies in the region following North Korea’s missile tests, local media reported on Friday. The two sides launched the drill earlier this week, involving Japanese destroyers and a US Navy carrier strike group, the Sankei Shimbun daily and Kyodo […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-us-conduct-navy-drill-in-east-china-sea-69437/

DefenceTalkNuclear-armed North Korea said Tuesday its missile launches were training for a strike on US bases in Japan, as global condemnation of the regime swelled. Three of the four missiles fired Monday came down provocatively close to US ally Japan, in waters that are part of its exclusive economic zone, representing a challenge to US […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-says-missiles-were-drill-for-strike-on-us-bases-69411/

DefenceTalkNuclear-armed North Korea launched four ballistic missiles on Monday in another challenge to US President Donald Trump, with three landing provocatively close to America’s ally Japan. Seoul and Washington began annual joint military exercises last week that always infuriate Pyongyang, with the North’s military warning of “merciless nuclear counter-action”. Under leader Kim Jong-Un, Pyongyang has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-missiles-three-reach-japan-waters-69379/

DefenceTalkPACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, Hawaii: The U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have completed the first successful intercept flight test of a Raytheon Company (RTN) Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA, a defensive weapon designed to defeat short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. Crew members onboard the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) launched a SM-3 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/next-gen-standard-missile-3-completes-first-intercept-test-68983/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the Japan Ministry of Defense, and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3). The SM-3 Block IIA is being developed cooperatively by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/u-s-japan-successfully-conduct-first-sm-3-block-iia-intercept-test-68980/

DefenceTalkAny nuclear attack by North Korea would trigger an “effective and overwhelming” response, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said in Seoul Friday as he sought to reassure Washington’s Asian allies following President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Mattis was in the South Korean capital before going on to Tokyo, on the first overseas tour by a senior […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-nuclear-attack-would-trigger-overwhelming-response-mattis-68965/

DefenceTalkNew Pentagon chief James Mattis is heading to South Korea and Japan this week, where he will seek to reassure the key US allies about American security commitments in the region. The defense secretary’s visit marks the first overseas trip of any senior official in the government of President Donald Trump, and comes after the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-pentagon-chief-seeks-to-underscore-alliances-with-japan-south-korea-68954/

DefenceTalkThe US Marine Corps said Tuesday it has sent a squadron of F-35B fighter jets to Japan, marking the first operational overseas deployment for the controversial aircraft that is under scrutiny from President-elect Donald Trump. The deployment of the 10 planes to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Honshu Island marks a major milestone for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-marines-send-f-35-stealth-fighter-squadron-to-japan-68788/

DefenceTalkThe US Marines on Monday resumed flights of their controversial Osprey aircraft in Japan, less than a week after a crash off the southern island of Okinawa sparked local protests. Last Tuesday an MV-22 Osprey made what Marines called a “controlled landing” just off the Okinawan coast during a night training flight that left the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-resumes-osprey-flights-in-japan-after-crash-68702/