Key Points – The U.S. Air Force and Space Force have completed their largest joint exercise in the Pacific since the Cold War, a massive monthlong event designed to stress-test their capabilities for a potential conflict.
-The Department-Level Exercise involved 12,000 troops, 500 aircraft from multiple allied nations, and spanned over 3,000 miles.
-Drills ranged from combat simulations and airfield seizures to advanced orbital and cyber warfare scenarios.
-According to top officials, the exercise successfully validated the U.S.’s ability to deploy, sustain, and operate at a large scale in the critical Indo-Pacific theater.
China, Be Worried? U.S. Air Force and Space Force End Monthlong Pacific Drills
The United States Air Force and Space Force have completed a monthlong exercise in the Pacific designed to stress-test American joint forces for war in the region.
Known as the Department-Level Exercise (DLE), the training event involved roughly 12,000 troops and 500 aircraft from all over the world.
In an August 21 press release, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin described the exercises as the largest in the Pacific since the Cold War.
“As intended, we stressed the system by having the largest scale exercise in the Pacific since the Cold War,” adding that the exercises “validated our ability to sustain operations, deploy and redeploy at scale.”
The exercise tested all capabilities of the U.S. air and space forces between early July and mid-August, across five separate drills and training events across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Mobility Guardian 2025 laid the groundworker for the other drills, with fleets of tankers and airlifters moving fuel, personnel, and supplies across the Pacific.
Later, the capstone drill known as Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), saw fighters, bombers, and other aircraft carry out combat simulations designed to test the Air Force’s ability to sustain missions in contested environments.
Not Just Air Combat
Drills were not limited to conventional air combat, however. Emerald Warrior 25.2 saw Air Force commandos rehearse airfield seizures and battlefield medical support, while Bamboo Eagle 25-3 at the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico saw command-and-control airmen practice new methods of controlling airspace.
Additionally, the Resolute Space exercise saw more than 700 Guardians – members of the U.S. Space Force – practice everything from electromagnetic and cyber to orbital warfare.
What unfolded over a period of four weeks proved to be the biggest exercise for the Space Force so far, and one of the broadest conducted by the U.S. Air Force in decades.
The exercise involved participants from Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Hundreds of aircraft stationed across more than 50 locations and 3,000 miles throughout the Pacific took part in the exercises, demonstrating interoperability between key allies, multi-domain integrations, and readiness in the Indo-Pacific theatre.
In July, when the Department of the Air Force announced the launch of the Pacific-focused DLE, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink described the drills as a “pivotal moment” for the Air Force and Space Force.
“Training like this alongside the Joint Force, our allies and partners in realistic operating environments using distributed operations is how we integrate capabilities to overcome any national security challenge,” Meink said.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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