Japan to Refuel South Korean Air Force’s Black Eagles Aerobatic Team at a Self-Defense Forces Base in Okinawa Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:41 JST, January 21, 2026

The Japanese and South Korean governments have begun an arrangement so that planes of the South Korean Air Force’s aerobatic performance team will be able to be refueled at the Air Self-Defense Force’s Naha Base in Okinawa Prefecture, according to government sources.

The refueling assistance will be based on the Self-Defense Forces Law. It is the first time that a plan to offer such refueling service to the South Korean military at an ASDF base has been made public.

It is likely that the refueling service, if implemented, will be a strong boost to the promotion of more defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea.

An earlier planned refueling service was canceled in November last year just before its expected implementation.

The planes to be accommodated at the ASDF base belong to the South Korean Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Black Eagles.

The planes will arrive at the Naha Base later this month and receive refueling by the ASDF unit at the base under the two governments’ plan.

The South Korean aerobatic team is scheduled to participate in an international exhibition of defense equipment to be held in Saudi Arabia in February.

Because the Black Eagles planes’ cruising range is not so long, they need to be refueled en route to the Middle East. Thus, the South Korean side asked Japan to cooperate.

The Japanese government intends to apply a provision of the law about rendering supplies and provide the ASDF’s fuel to the South Korean planes.

The sources said that refueling for the South Korean military based under the relevant provision will be the first ever case of its kind.

Japan has signed Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements (ACSAs) with major countries, such as the United States and Australia, so that the SDF and those countries’ military forces can smoothly provide fuel and food to each other. But that kind of legal framework has not been established between Japan and South Korea.

With this time’s accommodation of the South Korean planes as a chance, the government expects that the SDF and the South Korean military will accumulate experience in mutual supply activities and boost a possible future ACSA between the two countries.

Japan and South Korea considered the same kind of refueling service in November last year, when the Black Eagles were scheduled to participate in another air show in the Middle East.

However, it was found just before the planned refueling that one of the Black Eagles planes to be refueled had flown around the Takeshima group of islets in Shimane Prefecture. Thus, the Japanese government hurriedly canceled the accommodation of the team.

The Black Eagles became unable to secure an alternative refueling point and gave up on participation in the air show. The South Korean side reacted negatively and temporarily stopped defense cooperation with Japan.

When Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a summit in Nara on Jan. 13, they agreed on the strategic importance of the Japan-South Korea relationship and enhancing bilateral cooperation.

In light of this, the two countries’ defense authorities began full-fledged moves to resume exchanges. Later this month, South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit Japan and likely hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi.

The defense authorities aim to realize the refueling service before the South Korean defense minister’s arrival in Japan.