Yokota supports first JGSDF-hosted multinational airborne exercise
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force paratrooper assigned to the 1st Airborne Brigade conducts a static-line jump from a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 assigned to the 2nd Tactical Airlift Group during a multinational airborne exercise at Ojojihara Training Area, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Jan. 17, 2026. Seven aircraft—one JASDF C-2, two JASDF C-130Hs and four U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules—airdropped approximately 260 paratroopers from the JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade and the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division. The exercise marked the first JGSDF-hosted multinational airborne operation conducted on Japanese soil and brought together airborne forces from Japan and the United States to enhance interoperability and airborne insertion capabilities in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe)