Freedom Edge 2025: Building Trilateral Trust Across the Indo-Pacific

Japan, Republic of Korea, and the United States completed Freedom Edge 25, the premier trilateral multi-domain exercise between the three nations, Sept. 15-19.

Marking the third iteration of the landmark exercise, Freedom Edge 25 expanded on previous trilateral exercises to enhance multidomain capabilities that play a key role in promoting our shared commitment of security, freedom, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The five-day exercise seamlessly incorporated air and maritime training with cyber warfare and special operations capabilities to further enhance multi-domain capabilities, as the defense forces execute ballistic missile defense; defensive counter-air; anti-surface warfare; maritime interdiction operations; visit, board, search and seizure; counter-piracy, medical evacuation; and replenishment-at-sea operations.

"Freedom Edge is a trilateral field training exercise integrating three nations strategic guidance to build trust, improve understanding, share information and perspectives, and to ultimately assess and improve our combined warfighting capabilities," said U.S. Air Force Col. Craig "Po" Rumble, warfighting exercises branch chief for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the lead planner and chief controller for Freedom Edge.

The ongoing cooperation among all three nations demonstrates strength and an unwavering commitment to defending vital interests against shared threats by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, and deterring aggression. This approach is grounded in partnership, presence, and military readiness.

Trilateral exercises and operations like Freedom Edge exemplify our collective commitment to achieving and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Freedom Edge is a continuing effort among the three nations to make information sharing and interoperability routine, repeatable, and real. Freedom Edge turns policy into procedures, and procedures into muscle memory - so the U.S., Japan, and Republic of Korea can train and improve together," Rumble said.