Summary
- US Air Force expanding exchange program with Australia to improve Pacific defense cooperation.
- The US seeks to strengthen defense bases across the Pacific amid China’s modernization.
- Increasing F-35 presence in Japan, replacing Hornets with F-35s on the aircraft carrier.
Australia is widely regarded as one of the US’s closest allies, and now the US Air Force wants to expand its international exchange program for enlisted airmen down under. Facing a rapidly modernizing and assertive China, the US Air Force wants stronger defense bases across the Pacific and deeper cooperation with its allies in the region. The US has also recently announced it will be deploying more F-35As to Japan and will be replacing the F/A-18 Super Hornets with F-35Cs on the aircraft carrier in the region.
US Air Force to “rapidly” expand exchange program with Australia
According to Defense News, the Air Force wants to expand its exchange program for enlisted airmen “to improve cooperation between allies in the case of a major war in the Pacific.” This comes just after Australia has wrapped up its largest-ever Pitch Black air force exercise with a record number of allies participating.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, David Flosi, stated on Wednesday that work is already underway to expand the US’s partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force. He said he and Ralph Clifton (the Warrant Officer of the Australian Air Force) have “been working already on a plan inside the Royal Australian Air Force to find opportunities for us to not only learn from each other, but to become interchangeable.” The counterparts are planning to expand that interchangeability “rapidly.”
Additionally, Flosi also said the US will increase the international exchange program with the three other Five Eyes alliance members – New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Tensions in the Pacific
With China’s rise and the US’s refocusing from the War on Terror to meet its new peer on the international stage, the world has once again entered an era of great power competition. The US sees Australia as a key ally in the Pacific. The US has been expanding its military footprint in Australia – including at Australia’s northern Tindal RAAF Base. The Air Force is creating the infrastructure for more USAF aircraft to operate from Tindal.
Photo: Aqeela_Image l Shutterstock
The Asia Pacific theater is vastly different from the Middle East. With the looming Chinese threat, the US no longer feels safe operating from its forward bases and must rethink how it fights. The Air Force is now working to be more flexible, operate from dispersed bases, and expand partnerships with allied nations. The trilateral AUKUS alliance is one navy-focused expression of that broader effort.
The US feels it needs to strengthen cooperation now before any conflict erupts. The Asia-Pacific is a tough and “contested” environment.