The United States and allied forces are staging their largest airpower exercise in the Indo-Pacific, testing the speed, scale, and coordination required to operate across thousands of miles.
Known as Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), the U.S. Air Force-led exercise spans across 3,000 miles and includes 400 aircraft, more than 12,000 personnel, and over 50 locations. It marks the largest contingency response exercise the U.S. has ever conducted in the region.
From fighter jets and tankers to transport planes and satellites, the month-long operation centers on Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) but reaches as far as Japan and Hawaii.
"We have not done it at this scope and scale here in the [Indo-Pacific] theater before," said Col. Charles "Dan" Cooley, commander of the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base and the air expeditionary task force overseeing REFORPAC. He added that it's a chance "for us to work on our command and control and our interoperability with the rest of the participants."
Those participants include Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada, many of which sent aircraft, logistics teams and aeromedical evacuation crews.
Growing Regional Tensions
While military leaders emphasize that the exercise is not aimed at a specific adversary, officials acknowledge it reflects broader efforts to enhance regional stability and combat readiness.
"This is just an opportunity to practice," said Col. Cooley. "That's really what it is."
But security analyst Leland Bettis, a board director at Pacific Center for Island Security (PCIS), said REFORPAC's focus on rapid deployment and distributed operations suggests more specific motivations.
"There's been very little disguising the fact that this exercise is directed at China, in terms of anticipated adversaries," said Bettis. "While I think there's this cloak of deterrence, the operational activities are built around fighting."
He pointed to a recent social media post from the U.S. Air Force stating that REFORPAC "proves how we'll fight and win in tomorrow's battlespace."
Bettis also raised concerns about the lack of civilian preparation in Guam, despite the island's proximity to potential conflict zones.
"There's no process for anything related to civilian resiliency," he said. "The Department of Defense has not prepared shelters for the civilian population in Guam. So, for all the talk about potential conflict, there's really been nothing that addresses the risk to the civilian community in conflict."
Operations push limits of logistics and coordination
On the ground and in the air, REFORPAC is testing personnel and infrastructure. Pilots are flying long-range missions with aerial refueling across wide swaths of ocean. Airlift crews are transporting cargo between remote islands, and technicians are keeping aging aircraft operational despite the heat, humidity, and salt exposure.
"We're operating under a kind of contingency deployment standpoint," said C-130 pilot Capt. Carter Sweat. "So we're kind of getting tasked day by day. It's a little less in the know of what we're doing, and we're kind of just standing by, ready to execute whatever mission we're given."
The U.S. Space Force is also participating through a related operation which simulates how space defense systems would respond during an attack or communications disruption.
"A different team was able to quickly prepare our space system for transport, deliver it to the Guam National Guard readiness center, establish communications and Operations Center, and, most importantly, get full capability of their space defense system, all within a matter of a couple of hours," said USAF Maj. Jerome Limoge of the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron.
A shifting face of American engagement
The U.S. military has framed REFORPAC as a demonstration of regional readiness and partnership. But Bettis warned that the growing military footprint across the Pacific could also shift the region's perception of the United States.
"In the absence of soft power, and [the] State Department USAID-led diplomacy, I think you're going to see more and more leveraging of the military to bring in activities," he said, adding that the military will offer to build runways and develop ports which will ultimately support a military purpose, as opposed to the development and direct assistance to nations.
"As our [PCIS] chairman frequently notes, the face of America in our part of the world wears a uniform. And I think you're going to probably see that more and more throughout the region," Bettis said.
REFORPAC is expected to wrap up in early August.
