Operation Iron Dagger is a bilateral exercise that showcases the U.S. Air Force’s ability to rapidly mobilize and deploy fifth-generation airpower across the Indo-Pacific theater. The 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, to execute Operation Iron Dagger earlier in December with their F-35As. As 2021 ends, the F-35's presence in the Indo-Pacific demonstrates the continuing effort to support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s dynamic force employment (DFE) concept through agile combat employment (ACE), which supports the National Defense Strategy effort to conduct training with joint partners while maintaining global peace and security. (Read more...)