The US Air Force recently put on a massive display of air power at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. We may not know the official reason for this exercise to take place but it can’t be just a coincidence that the Trump administration also order the USS Carl Vinson Strike Group to the Korean Peninsula area due to an escalation of tensions with North Korea.

Watch the Elephant Walk at Kadena Air Base

The United States Air Force staged a massive “elephant walk” yesterday at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. The 18th Wing stationed at Kadena is the largest combat-ready wing in the Air Force, operating two squadrons of F-15 Eagles as well as HH-60 Pave Hawks, E-3 Sentries, and KC-135 Stratotankers.

An elephant walk is a military exercise that involves taxiing entire squadrons of aircraft in close formation as would be necessary in a short-notice wartime situation. The unannounced exercise is to prepare airmen to respond quickly to a threat if necessary, and also to serve as a show of force to potential aggressor nations in the surrounding region. – Popular Mechanics

Air Force KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron

12 U.S. Air Force KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron perform and elephant walk during Exercise Forceful Tiger on Apr. 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Japan. Photo by by Staff Sgt. Marcus Morris, US Air Force

Last May A-10 Thunderbolts and F-16 Fighting Falcons performed an ‘Elephant Walk’ on the runway during Exercise Beverly Herd 16-01 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.