NAVAL AIR FACILITY MISAWA, Japan – “The Pelicans” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 participated in exercise Resolute Dragon Oct. 10-13 in the Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

Resolute Dragon is an annual bilateral training exercise designed to strengthen the defensive capabilities of the U.S. and Japan alliance. During the exercise, procedures are refined for improvement of bilateral command, coordination and control in the geographically distributed environment leading to the maximized efficiency of firing assets.

VP-45 is a P-8A Poseidon aviation squadron operating under Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet (C7F) with the purpose of conducting maritime patrol and reconnaissance in flight.

"Resolute Dragon 22 provided training opportunities for tactical command-and-control and third-party targeting with a diverse group of multi-service and international participants across air, land, and sea domains,” said Lt. Zachary Smith. “The invaluable experiences gained by exercising these mission sets in a dynamic environment will allow crews to execute operational missions with increased efficiency and effectiveness."

VP-45’s participation in Resolute Dragon included sustaining one operational flight per day for a total of four sorties and 26 flight hours. Commander, Task Group 72.4 (CTG 72.4) P-8A aircrew from VP-45 coordinated on-station with the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65), F-35s from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, UH-1s and AH-1s from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 469, MV-22s from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265, MH60Rs from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) SSM-1, and U.S. Marine Corps High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) batteries. These participants demonstrated effective communication and operations while executing the bilateral joint simulated maritime strike events across maritime air and sea forces.

VP-45 is currently on a scheduled deployment in support of C7F and Commander, Task Group (CTG) 72.4, conducting routine maritime patrol flights out of Misawa, Japan, to promote regional security for a free and open Indo-Pacific.