In photos: Japanese F-15Js land at RAF Coningsby in first UK deployment
September 19, 2025
In a historic first, the skies over Lincolnshire were pierced by the roar of two Japanese F-15J Eagles as they touched down at RAF Coningsby on 18 September. The fighters, from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), marked the conclusion of the third leg of the Atlantic Eagle deployment – the first time Japan has dispatched combat aircraft to Europe.
Any Japanese military aircraft appearing in the UK is an extraordinary rarity, and the arrival of these F-15Js drew large crowds of enthusiasts around the base perimeter. Operated by 2 Kokudan’s 201 Hikotai (Squadron) at Chitose Air Base, the two aircraft – serials 22-8936 (‘JINTEI01’) and 42-8946 (‘JINTEI02’) – arrived at 16:46 local time, performing a single flypast before breaking to land at the home of the RAF Typhoon force.
After engines shut down, the JASDF pilots were greeted by their RAF counterparts before the Eagles were towed into a No. 29 Squadron hangar, where they will remain until their planned departure on 23 September.
Although four F-15Js departed Chitose for Atlantic Eagle, only two made the crossing from CFB Goose Bay, Canada, to the UK on 18 September. The arrival date of the remaining pair remains unconfirmed.
JASDF Atlantic Eagle deployment
Supporting the deployment are around 180 JASDF personnel and two Kawasaki C-2 strategic transports, including serial 58-1218 (‘JAF101’), which arrived ahead of the fighters on 17 September. Tanker support has been provided by a mix of Japanese KC-46A Pegasus and KC-767Js, as well as a former Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10 now operated by Omega Aerial Refuelling Services.
Atlantic Eagle began at Chitose, on the northern island of Hokkaido, on 15 September. The F-15Js routed via Eielson AFB, Alaska, and CFB Goose Bay before their transatlantic hop. While the jets are not scheduled to fly during their UK stop, the JASDF crews are expected to spend several days in cultural and professional exchanges with RAF colleagues before continuing to Laage Air Base in Germany.
This deployment is more than a symbolic first. It underlines Tokyo’s determination to deepen defence cooperation with Euro-Atlantic allies and to demonstrate the global reach of the JASDF.
Japan’s defence ministry framed the mission as proof that “security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is inseparable,” highlighting ambitions to build interoperability at the unit level and pave the way for larger joint exercises in the future.
UK–Japan defence cooperation
Atlantic Eagle comes against the backdrop of growing defence ties between London and Tokyo. Most prominently, Japan formally joined the UK- and Italy-led Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) in December 2023. The sixth-generation stealth fighter is intended to replace the RAF’s Typhoon fleet, Italy’s Typhoons, and Japan’s Mitsubishi F-2s from the mid-2030s.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is now working alongside BAE Systems and Leonardo to deliver the programme, a sign of how central Japan has become to Britain’s long-term aerospace partnerships.
Cooperation is also extending at sea. HMS Prince of Wales is currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific as part of Operation Highmast (Carrier Strike Group 25) and is expected to visit Japan before beginning her return to the UK.
These parallel developments underscore Japan’s strategy of strengthening partnerships in both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, in response to a more contested global security environment.
F-15J: Japan’s air defence champion
The JASDF’s F-15J is a licence-built variant of the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) Eagle, assembled in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Designed for air superiority, the F-15J entered service on 7 December 1981 and has remained the backbone of Japanese air defence for more than four decades.
Tokyo originally acquired 165 single-seat F-15Js and 48 dual-seat F-15DJs, with today’s fleet numbering more than 140 F-15Js and 40 F-15DJs. Although ageing, the Eagle remains central to Japan’s defence posture and is being modernised rather than replaced outright.
In December 2024, the US Department of Defense awarded Boeing a $450.5 million contract to upgrade 68 F-15Js and DJs under the F-15 Japan Super Interceptor (JSI) programme. These aircraft will gain:
- Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar
- BAE Systems AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS)
- Honeywell Advanced Display Core Processor II (ADCP II)
The upgrades mirror capabilities fielded on the USAF’s new F-15EX Eagle II. They will also allow the JASDF to move beyond air superiority, introducing precision-guided strike capabilities for the first time. Tokyo has ordered 50 AGM-158B JASSM-ER stand-off missiles to support this new role.
Boeing will begin the upgrade work in St. Louis and at Eglin AFB before transferring the package to Mitsubishi in Japan. Completion is expected by 2030. The remaining Eagles will gradually give way to a growing fleet of F-35A Lightning IIs, of which 105 are on order.
