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Images: Showcasing F-22s, CV-22s, and Other Aircraft in REFORPAC Operation

U.S. Air Force dispatches multiple aircraft throughout the Indo-Pacific region for the extensive REFORPAC military exercise, reaching destinations including Japan, Guam, and Palau.

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Images: Ranging from F-22s to CV-22s, the Aircraft of REFORPAC
Images: Ranging from F-22s to CV-22s, the Aircraft of REFORPAC

Images: Showcasing F-22s, CV-22s, and Other Aircraft in REFORPAC Operation

Resolute Force Pacific 2025 (REFORPAC 2025): The U.S. Air Force's largest-ever contingency-response exercise in the Indo-Pacific region is underway, demonstrating rapid deployment, readiness, and multilateral airpower capabilities across a vast and challenging theater.

Running from July 10 to August 8, 2025, REFORPAC 2025 engages more than 12,000 military personnel and over 400 aircraft, spanning approximately 3,000 miles in the Pacific theater. The exercise aims to enhance interoperability, sustainment, and operational adaptability in contested environments.

Purpose

The exercise aims to train military personnel to maintain readiness and execute missions under high stress and dynamic conditions. It also demonstrates the ability to quickly disperse thousands of U.S. and allied servicemembers and equipment across the Indo-Pacific to defend U.S. interests and partner nations. Improving interoperability with multinational and joint partners is another key objective, building a stronger, more capable deterrent force.

Scope and Scale

REFORPAC 2025 takes place at over 50 locations, with main locations including Hawai’i, Guam, Japan (including Misawa Air Base), the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and international airspace.

Participating Aircraft and Units

Over 300+ aircraft participate, including fighter jets, tankers, transport planes, and possibly satellites for coordination. The 35th Air Expeditionary Wing, notably based at Misawa Air Base in Japan, plays a pivotal role in generating sorties, enabling agile combat employment, and sustaining high-tempo flight operations. Air Mobility Command supports the exercise by providing critical airlift, air refueling, and command and control functions to sustain and maneuver joint forces.

Exercise Activities

Activities include aircraft flightline operations and munitions handling, hot-pit rapid refueling, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) training exercises, distributed logistics support, and multilateral air-to-air refueling operations.

Significance

REFORPAC 2025 marks an unprecedented surge and scale of airpower projection, validating the U.S. and allied forces’ ability to operate effectively across vast distances in the Pacific. It illustrates the capacity to integrate and command large numbers of aircraft and personnel in a complex, multinational, and contested environment. REFORPAC 2025 serves as a critical demonstration of the U.S. Air Force's agility and strategic reach within the Indo-Pacific, underpinning peace and stability in the region.

Some of the participating aircraft and units include:

  • A C-5M from the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
  • HH-60Ws and an HC-130J from the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing
  • F-16s from the 35th Fighter Wing, Misawa's host unit
  • A C-17 from the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Wing
  • F-16s from the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan
  • F-35s from the Wisconsin Air National Guard flying from Palau, about 500 miles away
  • F-35s from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah
  • On the mobility side, KC-46s from the New Hampshire Air National Guard and C-130s from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, are launching training missions out of Andersen
  • B-52s from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., are visiting Guam for a bomber task force rotation
  • An MC-130J from the 353rd Special Operations Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan
  • Naval Air Facility Atsugi, not far from Yokota, has hosted KC-135s from the 18th Wing at Kadena
  • A C-130J from 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan

REFORPAC 2025 is a month-long, high-intensity exercise involving thousands of allied and U.S. personnel and hundreds of aircraft across multiple Pacific locations, emphasizing rapid response, operational readiness, multinational cooperation, and advanced airpower capabilities in a strategically vital region.

  1. The U.S. Air Force's exercise, REFORPAC 2025, demonstrates the military's capacity to project weapons from fighter jets, like F-16s and F-35s, across the vast Indo-Pacific region.
  2. The air force's space force might also be integrated into REFORPAC 2025, as satellite coordination could be crucial for the exercise's success.
  3. The aerospace industry plays a significant role in REFORPAC 2025, supplying the necessary aircraft, including tankers and transport planes, for the exercise.
  4. REFORPAC 2025 aims to bolster security by enhancing the readiness and operational adaptability of pilots and their units, including the 35th Air Expeditionary Wing and the 177th Fighter Wing.
  5. Financial support is vital for REFORPAC 2025, as it involves over 12,000 military personnel and more than 400 aircraft, with participation extending to multiple Pacific locations.
  6. The goal of REFORPAC 2025 is not only to defend U.S. interests and partner nations but also to build a stronger, more capable defense force through improved interoperability with multinational and joint partners.

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