U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Catherine Daniel Four members of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force were injured after a munition exploded on Kadena Air Base on Monday.

The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that the explosion occurred at the facility managed by the Okinawa prefectural government at Kadena Air Base’s munitions storage area.

Air Force and U.S. Navy aircraft line up at Kadena Air Base, Japan, May 6, 2025 for a 53-plane "elephant walk," along with two Army missile batteries. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tylir Meyer.

The Kadena elephant walk is among the largest ever by the US Air Force, outnumbering an elephant walk in 2020 at Hill Air Force Base in Utah that only featured F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

The operation at Kadena Air Base — involving 53 aircraft from both the Air Force and Navy, along with two Army MIM-104 Patriot systems — was designed to showcase “the strength of America’s ...