A RAAF P-8A Poseidon has taken part in joint training exercises with a Kawasaki RC-2 aircraft from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
In the activity, the two aircraft flew from air bases in Japan, sharing information across the battlefield tactical network as they would in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
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“We want ISR crews from Australia, Japan and the United States to be linked and exchange data together,” said Australian Air Force attaché to Japan, Wing Commander Andrew Fisher.
“We do about one or two land exchanges each year to strengthen our relationships, most recently in Kadena [in Okinawa] in October 2025.”
According to Defense, planes like the Poseidon and the RC-2 carry “a specially trained crew and powerful sensors that collect information and create a detailed image of your battlespace.”
“The tactical network can share that image with other aircraft, ships and units in the battlespace, allowing other crews and commanders to make more informed decisions about their mission,” Defense said.
Wing Commander Fisher added that ground cooperation and air sharing activities are “essential to ensure that information can be shared across the network when necessary.”
“Most of the hard work is done before the flight is made, ensuring that everyone uses the correct network and can join successfully,” he said.
“If preparation is not done beforehand through exchanges like this, then resolving any issues in the air can be difficult, especially in a bilateral or multilateral context.
“Showing we can do it once is important to ensure we can carry this cooperation into future exercises and operations between Australia, Japan and the United States.
“What we learn from connecting our P-8A with Japanese and American aircraft can be used to inform how we apply this to other RAAF aircraft in the future.”
The defense ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States committed last year to increasing their trilateral ISR cooperation.
