Japan deployed F-15 fighter jets and other aircraft to military bases in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to support NATO operations.
The Atlantic Eagles mission, which took place from mid-September to early October 2025, marked the first time that Japanese fighter jets have deployed to Canada and Europe in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) 71-year history. The JASDF sent four F-15s, two C-2 transporters and two aerial refueling tankers — a KC-767 and a KC-46A, according to a JASDF news release. In addition to aircraft, about 180 personnel deployed to the mission. Destinations included Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador; Laage Air Base, Germany; Royal Air Force Coningsby and Brize Norton stations, U.K.; and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, U.S.
As the geopolitical landscape becomes more complex, Allies in both regions are working together to enhance security. Combined, cross-domain exercises, including Rim of the Pacific, and new partnerships are ensuring interoperability of new technologies.
“Security in Europe, the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is unified and inseparable, so the dispatch will demonstrate the common recognition that defense is interrelated,” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
Atlantic Eagles aims to deepen the defense relationship among Japan and Western Allies. It underscored increased concerns over growing collaboration among China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. The mission was first announced in August 2025 after a meeting between Nakatani and British Defence Minister John Healey in Tokyo, according to Newsweek magazine. No exercises took place after the long flights, defense officials said.
“The Atlantic Eagles mission … is essentially about demonstrating Japan’s commitment to working closely with its NATO partners, but it also demonstrates Tokyo’s efforts to play a greater role in global security,” said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, in an Atlantic Council report. “Japan has been working to expand and deepen security cooperation via various channels, not only with the United States and its Allies and likeminded states, but also with other vital partners in Southeast Asia, in South Asia, and among the Pacific Island states. These efforts are part of Japan’s One Cooperative Effort Among Nations concept, which is aimed at achieving and sustaining a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Japan also has increased defense spending, approving a record $55 billion defense budget for 2025 as part of a five-year buildup under its 2022 national security strategy. The Ministry of Defense announced plans to develop long-range, precision-guided missiles to “prevent and eliminate invading troops.” In January 2025, the country opened a diplomatic mission to NATO in Brussels with a dedicated Japanese ambassador to NATO. Japan has also pledge support to Ukraine for reconstruction and development.
The country is also working with the European Union to increase collaboration on defense industry initiatives.
“As Japan strengthens its military footprint alongside its NATO Allies, expect this momentum to carry over into the industrial domain,” Kristen Taylor, assistant director with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, said in the Atlantic Council report. “Defense innovation and production will become a cornerstone of defense cooperation between Japan and Europe.”