C-130s and airmen with the 36th Airlift Squadron assisted in a first on Aug. 12, helping Japanese soldiers airdrop onto US soil. Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Airborne Brigade of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force joined US Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment to jump as part of a simulated airfield seizure exercise for exercise Red Flag-Alaska at JB Elmendorf-Richardson. The training scenario focused on C-130s, protected by “blue air” fighter aircraft, attempting to seize an airfield while aggressor aircraft attempted to “shoot down” the aircraft, Red Flag officials said in a release. Several countries involved in the exercise, including the US, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, participated in the scenario. Red Flag-Alaska, Pacific Air Forces premiere training mission, runs through Aug. 21 at Elemendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.