Overview
- Japan will refuel South Korea’s Black Eagles at the Air Self-Defense Force’s Naha Base on Jan. 28, the first time Japan’s air force has refueled South Korean military aircraft.
- The arrangement, set under the Self-Defense Forces Law rather than a bilateral ACSA, follows a Jan. 13 leaders’ meeting that restarted defense exchanges.
- Nine T-50B jets and a South Korean C-130J are scheduled to arrive at Naha for the stop, and neither unit will perform on Okinawa.
- The team is en route to the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia from Feb. 8 to 12, after a planned November refueling was canceled over a flight near the disputed Takeshima/Dokdo islets.
- The visit includes a unit-to-unit exchange with Japan’s Blue Impulse team, and Japan is considering a request to refuel the group on its return later in February.