Two U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers, escorted by fighter jets from Japan and South Korea, flew a joint mission near the Korean Peninsula on Friday.
According to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the bombers, operating from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, flew alongside two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters and two South Korean KF-16 Fighting Falcons during the operation.
🇯🇵-🇰🇷-🇺🇸 #TrilateralFlight ✈️
Fighter aircraft from @JASDF_PAO_ENG & #ROKAF escorted @PACAF bombers operating in the #IndoPacific—reinforcing collective airpower and readiness to respond to regional challenges.
#Security 📸 Courtesy Photo
🔗 Read more:https://t.co/Mfx0edSOdV pic.twitter.com/9pnQpgWoQ9— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) July 12, 2025
This marks the third joint flight between the three nations this year, following a bomber escort mission in January and a defensive counter-air training flight in June. In a statement, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said: “The flight continues to demonstrate and train the collective ability to immediately respond to regional security challenges.”
The drill coincided with a trilateral defense meeting in Seoul, where U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Myung-soo and Yoshihide Yoshida, discussed the growing threats posed by North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs and China’s expanding military presence.
Meanwhile, North Korea condemned the recent operation.
“Irresponsible acts of the U.S., Japan and [South Korea] steadily heightening the level of tension and danger on the Korean Peninsula should be closely watched and deterred,” North Korea’s military said in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The statement also warned of unspecified “grave consequences” and asserted that Pyongyang exercises a “sovereign right to take countermeasures against provocative military actions.”
North Korea made similar accusations in April after the U.S. flew B-1B Lancer bombers over the peninsula.
