Netherlands Joins U.S. and Japan in Trilateral F-35 Exercise at Misawa to Enhance Allied Interoperability
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
The Royal Netherlands Air Force launched its first-ever fighter exercise from Japan’s Misawa Air Base on March 23, 2026, deploying F-35s to train with U.S. and Japanese forces. The move is significant because it shows Dutch fifth-generation airpower can plug into allied combat operations across both NATO and Indo-Pacific theaters.
The Dutch contingent includes five F-35s and tanker support, while Japan is flying its own F-35s and the United States is contributing F-35s and F-16s. Set against recent Dutch-U.S. F-35 activity tied to NATO readiness, the Misawa deployment shows the Netherlands operating in two strategic theaters at once, strengthening interoperability, sustainment, and coalition response capacity far from Europe.
Read Also: U.S. and Dutch F-35 Stealth Fighters Conduct Joint High-Tempo Operations to Strengthen NATO Combat Readiness
Three U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 58th Fighter Squadron fly in formation over Florida during a 2013 training mission at Eglin Air Force Base, home to the F-35 Integrated Training Center, this image is for illustrative purposes (Picture Source: U.S. Air Force)
The Dutch contribution to the exercise in Japan includes five F-35s and tanker support, while Japan is flying the same fifth-generation fighter and the United States is participating with both F-35s and F-16s. Officially, the purpose is to learn how the three nations can operate together, but the implications are broader. For the Netherlands, this deployment shows that its air force is no longer framed only by Europe’s immediate geography. It is increasingly positioning its F-35 fleet as a deployable tool of allied combat power, able to integrate with trusted partners under different operational conditions and in distant theaters where stability is under pressure.
That point becomes even more important when viewed alongside the recent Army Recognition report on Dutch and American F-35 operations linked to NATO combat readiness. The two activities show that the Netherlands is not merely training its pilots in isolation or focusing on one region at a time. Instead, it is reinforcing a larger pattern in which Dutch fifth-generation aviation is being woven into a U.S.-led network of allied airpower stretching from North America and Europe to Northeast Asia. This dual-theater posture sends a clear signal about the value of interoperability: allied strength is no longer measured only by the number of aircraft available, but by the ability of those aircraft to plug rapidly into a common combat framework.
Misawa is a particularly meaningful location for that effort. As a major hub for U.S. and Japanese air activity, it provides an ideal setting for refining trilateral procedures in a region where deterrence and readiness carry immediate strategic weight. For Japan, working with both American and Dutch F-35 operators strengthens more than symbolic international ties. It helps deepen practical integration with two advanced air forces that share common methods, mission planning standards, and fifth-generation operational concepts. In the current Indo-Pacific environment, where airpower must respond quickly to growing regional military pressure and uncertainty, such training strengthens the ability of democratic allies to act in concert rather than in parallel.
The F-35 is the natural centerpiece of this kind of exercise because it offers more than stealth alone. Its importance lies in its capacity to fuse data, improve situational awareness, accelerate target identification, and reduce the friction that traditionally complicates multinational air operations. When several allied F-35 users train together, the benefit is not simply that they fly the same aircraft, but that they begin to fight using a more common operational picture. That shared understanding is critical in demanding scenarios where reaction time, coordination, and survivability can determine the success of an entire mission package. The Dutch tanker contribution also matters, because it shows that the deployment is not just about sending fighters abroad, but about practicing the support architecture needed for sustained coalition air operations far from home.
At the geostrategic level, the exercise reflects the growing connection between NATO-centered readiness and Indo-Pacific security. The United States is the central link between those two theaters, and the Netherlands is showing that it can contribute meaningfully within that wider architecture. By training with the U.S. in support of NATO readiness while also operating with American and Japanese forces in Asia, the Dutch air force is helping demonstrate that allied deterrence is becoming more connected across regions. For Washington, this is a reminder that trusted European partners can support strategic stability beyond the continent. For Japan, it confirms that support for regional security extends beyond bilateral ties and increasingly includes capable Atlantic allies equipped for modern coalition warfare.
The exercise also underlines the wider significance of the F-35 enterprise itself. As more allied nations field the aircraft, its value lies not only in individual performance but in the common military language it creates across fleets, commands, and theaters. That growing standardization is one reason why the F-35 has become so central to Western and partner airpower planning. It gives the United States and its allies a practical advantage in building integrated formations more quickly and more effectively than would be possible with a patchwork of disconnected systems. In that sense, the aircraft’s role is not limited to air combat capability; it also supports the cohesion, credibility, and responsiveness of the alliance network built around it.
What the Dutch deployment to Misawa shows most clearly is that fifth-generation airpower is reshaping how allies prepare for future conflict. By flying F-35s with the United States and Japan in the Indo-Pacific while also deepening combat readiness with American forces in the NATO sphere, the Netherlands is proving that modern allied air forces must be ready to operate across theaters, not just within them. That makes this exercise more than a training event. It is a demonstration that coalition airpower, built around U.S. leadership, trusted partners, and the shared advantages of the F-35, is becoming more unified, more agile, and more credible in the face of global security challenges.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
The Royal Netherlands Air Force launched its first-ever fighter exercise from Japan’s Misawa Air Base on March 23, 2026, deploying F-35s to train with U.S. and Japanese forces. The move is significant because it shows Dutch fifth-generation airpower can plug into allied combat operations across both NATO and Indo-Pacific theaters.
The Dutch contingent includes five F-35s and tanker support, while Japan is flying its own F-35s and the United States is contributing F-35s and F-16s. Set against recent Dutch-U.S. F-35 activity tied to NATO readiness, the Misawa deployment shows the Netherlands operating in two strategic theaters at once, strengthening interoperability, sustainment, and coalition response capacity far from Europe.
Three U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 58th Fighter Squadron fly in formation over Florida during a 2013 training mission at Eglin Air Force Base, home to the F-35 Integrated Training Center, this image is for illustrative purposes (Picture Source: U.S. Air Force)
The Dutch contribution to the exercise in Japan includes five F-35s and tanker support, while Japan is flying the same fifth-generation fighter and the United States is participating with both F-35s and F-16s. Officially, the purpose is to learn how the three nations can operate together, but the implications are broader. For the Netherlands, this deployment shows that its air force is no longer framed only by Europe’s immediate geography. It is increasingly positioning its F-35 fleet as a deployable tool of allied combat power, able to integrate with trusted partners under different operational conditions and in distant theaters where stability is under pressure.
That point becomes even more important when viewed alongside the recent Army Recognition report on Dutch and American F-35 operations linked to NATO combat readiness. The two activities show that the Netherlands is not merely training its pilots in isolation or focusing on one region at a time. Instead, it is reinforcing a larger pattern in which Dutch fifth-generation aviation is being woven into a U.S.-led network of allied airpower stretching from North America and Europe to Northeast Asia. This dual-theater posture sends a clear signal about the value of interoperability: allied strength is no longer measured only by the number of aircraft available, but by the ability of those aircraft to plug rapidly into a common combat framework.
Misawa is a particularly meaningful location for that effort. As a major hub for U.S. and Japanese air activity, it provides an ideal setting for refining trilateral procedures in a region where deterrence and readiness carry immediate strategic weight. For Japan, working with both American and Dutch F-35 operators strengthens more than symbolic international ties. It helps deepen practical integration with two advanced air forces that share common methods, mission planning standards, and fifth-generation operational concepts. In the current Indo-Pacific environment, where airpower must respond quickly to growing regional military pressure and uncertainty, such training strengthens the ability of democratic allies to act in concert rather than in parallel.
The F-35 is the natural centerpiece of this kind of exercise because it offers more than stealth alone. Its importance lies in its capacity to fuse data, improve situational awareness, accelerate target identification, and reduce the friction that traditionally complicates multinational air operations. When several allied F-35 users train together, the benefit is not simply that they fly the same aircraft, but that they begin to fight using a more common operational picture. That shared understanding is critical in demanding scenarios where reaction time, coordination, and survivability can determine the success of an entire mission package. The Dutch tanker contribution also matters, because it shows that the deployment is not just about sending fighters abroad, but about practicing the support architecture needed for sustained coalition air operations far from home.
At the geostrategic level, the exercise reflects the growing connection between NATO-centered readiness and Indo-Pacific security. The United States is the central link between those two theaters, and the Netherlands is showing that it can contribute meaningfully within that wider architecture. By training with the U.S. in support of NATO readiness while also operating with American and Japanese forces in Asia, the Dutch air force is helping demonstrate that allied deterrence is becoming more connected across regions. For Washington, this is a reminder that trusted European partners can support strategic stability beyond the continent. For Japan, it confirms that support for regional security extends beyond bilateral ties and increasingly includes capable Atlantic allies equipped for modern coalition warfare.
The exercise also underlines the wider significance of the F-35 enterprise itself. As more allied nations field the aircraft, its value lies not only in individual performance but in the common military language it creates across fleets, commands, and theaters. That growing standardization is one reason why the F-35 has become so central to Western and partner airpower planning. It gives the United States and its allies a practical advantage in building integrated formations more quickly and more effectively than would be possible with a patchwork of disconnected systems. In that sense, the aircraft’s role is not limited to air combat capability; it also supports the cohesion, credibility, and responsiveness of the alliance network built around it.
What the Dutch deployment to Misawa shows most clearly is that fifth-generation airpower is reshaping how allies prepare for future conflict. By flying F-35s with the United States and Japan in the Indo-Pacific while also deepening combat readiness with American forces in the NATO sphere, the Netherlands is proving that modern allied air forces must be ready to operate across theaters, not just within them. That makes this exercise more than a training event. It is a demonstration that coalition airpower, built around U.S. leadership, trusted partners, and the shared advantages of the F-35, is becoming more unified, more agile, and more credible in the face of global security challenges.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
