American, Australian and Japanese airmen demonstrated a forward arming and refueling point for F-35A Lightning II fighters during the Southern Cross exercise at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, Australia on Thursday July 9, 2026. (RAAF)
More than 1,000 airmen and 40 aircraft from the U.S., Australia and Japan kicked off a fifth-generation fighter exercise Down Under on the same day that China test-fired a ballistic missile into the South Pacific Ocean.
Exercise Southern Cross is a new trilateral drill underway at Royal Australian Air Force Bases Darwin and Tindal in Australia’s Northern Territory until July 17, according to an Australian air force news release Monday.
The Chinese submarine fired a nuclear-capable missile carrying a dummy warhead Monday that analysts estimate landed north of the Solomon Islands. The test prompted complaints from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, the Solomons and other nations in the region.
Southern Cross, however, is about team building and not aimed at a potential adversary, the chief of the Australian air force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, told reporters at RAAF Darwin Thursday.
“It’s incredibly important we do so at this time in history to continue to deter decisions that would undermine the security and prosperity and stability of the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Chappell appeared alongside U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Kevin Schneider and Japanese Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff Gen. Takehiro Morita.
Airmen from the three nations demonstrated a forward arming refueling point at RAAF Darwin following a press conference, which Stars and Stripes joined online.
The training showed the three nations could rearm and refuel an F-35 at an austere airfield in Australia or elsewhere in the region, Chappell said.
Australia operates a fleet of 72 F-35As, including a squadron that flies out of Tindal. America and Australia have invested heavily in upgrading the base to support future U.S. bomber task force missions.
Southern Cross is the third in a series of stealth jet exercises involving the three nations that included COPE North in Guam and Bushido Guardian in Japan last year, Chappell said.
A key part of America’s defense strategy is building bonds with allies, said Schneider, who did not identify American units or the number of U.S. airmen and aircraft involved in the Australian training.
“There is so much more that we can get out of this platform by working together,” Schneider, a fighter pilot himself, said of the Lightning II.
Japan has operated F-35As from Misawa Air Base in the country’s northeast since 2018. The U.S. 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa began transitioning from F-16 Fighting Falcons to F-35As in March.
Japan plans to build a fleet of 147 stealth jets, including 105 F-35As and 42 short takeoff/vertical landing F-35Bs.
An Australian KC-30A tanker refueled the Japanese F-35As over the Pacific Ocean on their way to Australia, Morita told reporters at RAAF Darwin.
All three nations will join Australia’s largest air combat exercise, Pitch Black, from July 20 to Aug. 7. The biennial drill will involve 19 nations and more than 100 aircraft flying over the Northern Territory and Queensland.
