TOKYO, May 8. /TASS/. The US will carry out exercise involving the Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, stationed at the Yokosuka naval base near the island of Iwo Jima, the Ministry of Defense of Japan announced Monday.

The exercise, which will focus on practicing on-deck aviation take-off and landing, will take place between May 9 and 19 and will involve F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters, as well as Grumman E-2 Hawkeye early warning planes. The Ministry noted that the exercise location may be altered, should weather conditions change.

"This exercise is extremely important for reinforcement of US deterrence and reaction capabilities in the region, based on the Japanese-American treaty on mutual cooperation and security," the Japanese Defense Ministry said.

The Island of Iwo Jima was the location of one of the fiercest battles between Japan and the US during World War II. The Battle of Iwo Jima started on February 16 and ended on March 26, 1945. Japanese forces, led by General Kuribayashi, were repelling US Marine Corps attacks for almost a month and a half. The Japanese turned the island into an impenetrable fortress with a vast system of trenches and underground tunnels. Fighting went literally for every centimeter of ground. However, Japanese defense eventually fell and the defenders of Iwo Jim surrendered on March 26, 1945.