The US Air Force rolled out dozens of top-line military aircraft in a pointed display of firepower at an airbase in Japan this week as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping presided over Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
It also came as Russia and China issued a joint statement condemning US President Donald Trump’s plan to create a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system as ‘deeply destabilising’ and one that would risk ‘turning space into a battlefield’.
A so-called ‘elephant walk’ took place at Kadena Air Force Base (AFB) on the island of Okinawa earlier this week, but images of the event emerged today – hours after Russia sent tanks, nuclear missiles and drones rolling through Red Square.
The procession in Okinawa showcased some of the most capable assets that American aviation has to offer.
Two dozen F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters and eight F-15E Strike Eagle multirole fighters took to the tarmac alongside a pair of Washington’s coveted Patriot missile defence batteries.
The stunning selection of jets was accompanied by an RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft, a Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, two Navy EA-18 Growler electronic warfare attack planes and three E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
The show of force was described by Chief Master Sgt. Brandon Wolfgang, the commander of 18th Wing stationed at Kadena AFB, as a ‘message you can’t ignore’.
A statement given by 18th Wing said the elephant walk was a ‘testament to the lethality Kadena AB can leverage to deter adversarial aggression in the Indo-Pacific region’.
The impressive parade, which also saw six HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and two MQ-9 Reaper drones on show alongside the aircraft, is said to be one of the largest ever conducted by USAF.
Following the elephant walk, Kadena AFB conducted three-day military drills this week, concluding today as Moscow hosted its own military procession as part of its celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II.
More than 20 world leaders and Kremlin allies including China’s Xi, Putin’s right-hand man in Europe, Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were in attendance at the Victory Day parade in Red Square.
Putin shared a warm handshake and posed for photos with Xi this morning, dispelling any illusion that efforts by US President Donald Trump to drive a wedge between the Eastern powers had succeeded.
The Russian and Chinese leaders nestled side-by-side to watch the parade in a show of unity after they issued a statement yesterday saying Trump’s move to create a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system would be ‘deeply destabilising’ and would risk turning space into a ‘battlefield’.
Putin and his guests, including several high-ranking North Korean military officials, watched on as hordes of soldiers goose-stepped to old marching songs and roared to their commanders before Russia’s top brass.
They were followed by a huge procession of Russian military technology that saw dozens of tanks, S400 Triumf air defence missile systems and the gargantuan Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles roll past the Mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin.
As the parade concluded, Putin walked along the square to greet a long line of military commanders from Russia and former Soviet states before stopping to speak with a delegation of Chinese and North Korean armed forces officers.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang in recent weeks acknowledged for the first time that North Korean troops had fought alongside their Russian counterparts against Ukraine.
The festivities ended with Putin, Xi and other world leaders solemnly laying a bouquet of red flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame in memory of the Soviets killed in World War II.
Several drones used to batter Ukraine, including the Lancet, Geran-2, Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 variants, were also shown off in the parade. A flight of Su-25, Su-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets and bombers later soared overhead trailing smoke in the white, blue and red of the Russian tricolour.
Russia’s defence minister Andrey Belousov, who arrived in Red Square atop a convertible Russian Aurus government car, addressed and inspected the troops. They responded with a chorus of ‘hurrah!’, before Putin took to the stage to deliver his speech.
Putin declared that Russia will always remember and appreciate the contribution of US and European allies to victory in World War II.
But he went on to say he would never allow the ‘true victors over Nazism to be slandered’ and that Moscow would ‘fight against the atrocities of the followers of Nazism’, echoing the Kremlin’s rhetoric that Russia is trying to ‘de-Nazify’ its neighbour.
‘(Russia) has truth and justice on its side. The whole country, society and people support the participants of the special military operation,’ Putin insisted, adding: ‘We are proud of their bravery and determination, of the fortitude that has always brought us only victory.’
The Kremlin’s so-called ‘special military operation’ is in fact the deadliest war in Europe since the conflict today’s parade is commemorating, and Ukraine has called today’s events in Moscow a ‘parade of cynicism’.