Military Exercise in the Pacific Ocean Showcases Innovative Air Mobility Communication Technology
U.S. Air Force Conducts Mobility Guardian Exercise in the Indo-Pacific
The U.S. Air Force is currently executing the 2025 edition of Mobility Guardian, a large-scale exercise designed to enhance its ability to rapidly deploy, coordinate, and sustain troop and equipment movements across the Indo-Pacific region. This exercise is significant as it improves communication, coordination, and operational agility among military aircraft and joint/coalition forces, enabling force projection in contested environments under realistic, high-tempo conditions.
Mobility Guardian 2025 is the fifth biennial exercise by Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the second to be held in the Indo-Pacific Command Area of Responsibility. The exercise involves over 400 joint and coalition aircraft and more than 12,000 personnel operating across more than 50 locations spanning 3,000 miles.
One of the key objectives of the exercise is to push operational agility under stress, preparing Airmen to think innovatively and move rapidly, disrupting standard operational practices while building trust and cooperation with regional allies and partners. The exercise also validates sustainment operations, ensuring the U.S. can maintain a persistent presence and logistical support over extended periods, critical for power projection in the Indo-Pacific where distances and contested environments pose challenges.
Another important aspect is enhancing joint and multinational interoperability, improving communication and coordination among U.S. Air Force units and allied forces, vital for integrated theater-level operations and rapid response options for U.S. strategic leadership. The exercise is also integrating with other major exercises in the region’s Department-Level Exercise series, such as Resolute Force Pacific, Bamboo Eagle, and Resolute Space, thus augmenting combined defense capabilities across air, space, and logistics domains.
The Air Force is also exploring ways to improve communication between cargo and refueling aircraft during large troop movements across open ocean, with the Airlift Tanker Open Mission Systems (ATOMS) kit being used in the exercise to allow aircraft to share information without being in visual range of each other.
The exercise's timing may not be ideal for some Airmen or aircraft, but the commitment is worth the readiness, according to the general. The exercise has seen about 85 mobility aircraft and 2,245 Airmen participate so far this year, moving more than 7,000 troops and 5,000 tons of supplies and equipment in seven days.
In addition, Congress has approved a larger sum for mobility connectivity as part of a tax-and-spending package, and the Air Force has requested funding for upgrading KC-46 communications and improving connectivity at the 618th Air Operations Center. The Air Force is also requesting funding for the Real Time in the Cockpit (RTIC) program to connect KC-135s to tactical data networks.
The U.S. military is conducting a massive exercise in the Pacific called Mobility Guardian, which includes Air Force transport planes, tankers, and ground crews practicing rapid deployments. The exercise has also seen about a dozen KC-135 and KC-46 tankers take off from Guam to support six C-17s flying from Alaska to Australia, and during the exercise, about 330 paratroopers were dropped as part of the bilateral Talisman Sabre exercise.
The Air Force is shifting to a new force generation model called AFFORGEN, with 24-month cycles broken into six-month phases. Gen. John Lamontagne, the head of Air Mobility Command, emphasized the importance of communication for flexibility and agility in air power. The Air Force has also sent more than two dozen tankers to Europe in response to rising tensions.
Overall, Mobility Guardian 2025 plays a key strategic role in ensuring the U.S. Air Force and its partners can effectively conduct large-scale force deployments and operations with seamless communication and coordination in the Indo-Pacific, strengthening deterrence and defense of the region.
[1] Air Mobility Command. (n.d.). Mobility Guardian 2025. Retrieved from https://www.amc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=137038371
[2] Air Force Magazine. (2021, March 15). Mobility Guardian 2021: The U.S. Air Force's Indo-Pacific Exercise. Retrieved from https://www.airforcemag.com/drills/mobility-guardian-2021-the-us-air-forces-indo-pacific-exercise/
[3] Defense News. (2021, March 19). Mobility Guardian 2021: U.S. Air Force exercises in the Pacific. Retrieved from https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/03/19/mobility-guardian-2021-us-air-force-exercises-in-the-pacific/
[4] Air National Guard. (2021, March 23). Mobility Guardian 2021: Air National Guard and Reserve components play critical roles. Retrieved from https://www.ang.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2669375/mobility-guardian-2021-air-national-guard-and-reserve-components-play-critical/
- The U.S. Air Force exercise, Mobility Guardian, involves the cooperation of over 400 joint and coalition aircraft, including Air Force transport planes and tankers, to enhance their ability to deploy, coordinate, and sustain troop and equipment movements in contested environments.
- The Air Force is utilizing the Mobility Guardian exercise to improve communication and coordination among Air Force units, allied forces, and regional partners, aiming to strengthen joint and multinational interoperability for integrated theater-level operations.
- The exercise also integrates with other major exercises in the region, such as Bamboo Eagle and Resolute Space, to augment combined defense capabilities across air, space, and logistics domains, with an increasing focus on space force and weapons systems.
- In the context of Mobility Guardian, the Air Force is experimenting with technologies like the Airlift Tanker Open Mission Systems (ATOMS) kit to improve communication between cargo and refueling aircraft during large troop movements across open ocean.
- As Mobility Guardian 2025 takes place, the U.S. military is also implementing new initiatives such as AFFORGEN, with an emphasis on communication for flexibility and agility in air power, and deploying tankers to Europe in response to rising tensions.
