Why has Japan deployed fighter jets to NATO bases in the US, Canada, and Europe?
The “Atlantic Eagles” have landed. Starting last week and running through October 1, Japan deployed four F-15 fighter jets and four additional military aircraft, along with nearly two hundred personnel, to visit military bases in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Operation Atlantic Eagles marks the first time ever that Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft will have been to Canada or Europe. Ahead of the operation, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said that the deployment embodies a “recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic region and that of the Indo-Pacific region are inseparable and interrelated.” Below, Atlantic Council experts answer four pressing questions about why Tokyo is making this move now and what to expect next in Japan-NATO relations.
1. Why has Japan deployed these jets now?
In recent years, Japan and NATO countries have worked to strengthen their defense relations. This has helped Tokyo and NATO members promote mutual understanding, coordination, and cooperation to deal with security issues in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions. Against this backdrop, the “Atlantic Eagles” mission—which involves the deployment of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s F-15, C-2, KC-767, and KC-46A to the United States, Canada, Britain, and Germany, is essentially about demonstrating Japan’s commitment to working closely with its NATO partners, but it also demonstrates Tokyo’s efforts to play a greater role in global security.
—Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He is also an associate professor at the Institute for International Strategy, Tokyo International University and an adjunct senior fellow at the Pacific Forum.
2. Are there other recent actions by Japan that point to a shift in how it views its security?
Japan has been working to expand and deepen security cooperation via various channels, not only with the United States and its allies and likeminded states, but also with other vital partners in Southeast Asia, in South Asia, and among the Pacific Island states. These efforts are part of Japan’s One Cooperative Effort Among Nations (OCEAN) concept, which is aimed at achieving and sustaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. Of course, the efforts also allow the Japan Self-Defense Force and Japan Coast Guard to gain important operational experience. Japan’s cooperation and coordination with various partners reflects Tokyo’s recognition that a proactive international role is vital to stabilizing the region and ensuring its own national security.
—Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi
3. What does Japan’s deployment mean for NATO allies?
Amid heightened military and economic threats posed by the axis of aggressors (China, Russia, and North Korea), likeminded nations of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are bolstering their security cooperation. Japan, despite being a traditionally pacifist country with a “no war” clause in its constitution, has dramatically increased its defense spending every year following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On the multilateral front, Japan has accomplished many firsts to bolster its European defense partnerships. In January, Tokyo established an independent mission to NATO to help develop a more efficient partnership between the two entities.
The “Atlantic Eagles” deployment to NATO bases marks the first time in history that Japanese warplanes have been deployed to Canada and Europe. As the United States looks for ways to reduce its military presence abroad, it is vital for Indo-Pacific and European democracies to develop robust pathways for security cooperation without Washington at the helm.
—Kyoko Imai is the associate director for the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
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Japan’s recent deployment of fighter jets to NATO bases is a strategic move. It signals Tokyo’s growing intent to deepen ties with Europe, and it lays the groundwork for enhanced cooperation—particularly in the defense industrial and innovation domains.
Confronted by growing China-Russia cooperation and an increasingly fickle US administration, Japan and Europe are moving past decades-long defense postures. Each is taking considerable steps to rebuild its defense industrial base and procure critical capabilities—wherever they can find them. Europe is already looking to Indo-Pacific partners to help fill these gaps.
To this end, Tokyo and Brussels aim to launch a new European Union–Japan Defence Industry Dialogue in the near future. This follows several moves to align defense industrial ambitions, including a formal European Union–Japan security and defense agreement, Japan’s new mission to NATO, and growing bilateral defense industrial ties.
Programs such as the Global Combat Air Programme and the development of a Japan-France-Germany electromagnetic railgun demonstrate Japan and Europe’s increased defense industrial cooperation. Tokyo brings to bear advanced research and development opportunities in robotics and additive manufacturing, while Europe can offer greater production capacity for more advanced systems.
As Japan strengthens its military footprint alongside its NATO allies, expect this momentum to carry over into the industrial domain. Defense innovation and production will become a cornerstone of defense cooperation between Japan and Europe.
—Kristen Taylor is an assistant director with the Transatlantic Security Initiative (TSI) at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
4. Where should Japan-NATO relations go from here?
This deployment of combat aircraft by Japan reflects an important development in the operationalization of the long-standing relationship between Tokyo and NATO. It should become a regular event, one eventually complemented by similar deployments and exercises by Japanese ground and naval forces, including their special operations elements. Japan could also host modest NATO exercises on its territory, leveraging the regular presence of US, Canadian, and European armed forces in the Indo-Pacific.
Now is the time to reanimate proposals for a small institutional NATO presence in Tokyo. This would facilitate greater understanding about the Alliance in Japan and expand the Alliance’s awareness of the regional dynamics affecting the interests shared by NATO and Japan.
—Ian Brzezinski is a resident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and he is a member of the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group.
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Going forward, Japan and its NATO partners should go beyond ceremonial exchanges and enhance interoperability for coordinated defense readiness, particularly in information, surveillance, and reconnaissance. And there are many opportunities in defense technologies for next-generation platforms and know-how.
Much will depend, however, on how much Japan and NATO can further exchange their visions and map out the partnership’s strategies and plans. Although the partnership is not about Japan and NATO fighting side by side, the coordination and exchanges will establish a network that will be critical for containing the instability caused by anti-status quo powers.
—Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi
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Image: A Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15E Strike Eagle performs a demonstration during Air Fest 2025 at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Sept. 21, 2025. (US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Patrick Boyle)
