Key facts
- US and Japanese forces rehearsed coordinated anti-ship strikes and mobile missile deployments.
- The Keen Sword 27 exercise involves approximately 45,000 Japanese personnel and 260 aircraft.
- The drills aim to challenge Beijing's control of waters near Taiwan.
US and Japanese forces have rehearsed coordinated anti-ship strikes and mobile missile deployments across Kyushu and Japan’s southwestern islands as part of the Keen Sword 27 exercise. The drills, running from October 19 to 29, are designed to test tactics that would challenge Beijing's ability to control surrounding waters in a conflict over Taiwan. The exercise involves approximately 45,000 Japanese personnel, 6,100 vehicles, 40 ships, and 260 aircraft, with about 12,000 US personnel also participating. The allies practiced keeping their own forces harder to target while threatening Chinese warships from multiple directions, and also rehearsed repairing runways.