Starting on December 1, 2022, the F-15 C/D Eagle fighter jet fleet from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, began withdrawing gradually after four decades of operation.
Although it has not definitively decided on a replacement, Washington is confirming the deployment of another temporary detachment of combat aircraft, which includes F-22 Raptor and/or F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets.
And three months after the first wave of F-15 C/D withdrawals from Japan, the latest news is that temporary detachments of replacement F-15 C/D fighters have begun arriving in Kadena. Reported by airandspaceforces.com (30/3/2023), the new guest at Kadena Air Force Base is the F-35A Lightning II.
The 18th Wing at Kadena Air Force Base stated in a statement that the 355th Fighter Squadron from Eielson Air Base, Alaska began deployment to Kadena on March 28, 2023. It is unclear how many F-35s are currently operating there. US Air Force officials have so far declined to provide an exact number of F-35s at Kadena.
However, officials say the deployment of the F-35s is temporary as part of a Defense Department plan to deploy the more advanced fighter jets in Kadena on a rotational basis while the older F-15s are repatriated to the US.
The US Air Force has pledged to replace the F-15 C/D Eagle with newer and more capable aircraft, starting with the F-22 Raptor from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska and the F-16CM from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
Kadena is a strategic location for the US Air Force, approximately 450 miles (724 km) from Taiwan, so Kadena's presence is key to the deployment of US air combat power in the Pacific, particularly in the face of a potential conflict with China in the future.
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