Kadena adds more Stealth Fighters in ‘challenging environment’

F-22A Raptors from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, recently arrived at Kadena Air Base, Japan, bolstering the fifth-generation air force at the closest U.S. military installation to Taiwan.

“Amid an increasingly challenging strategic environment, it is critical that we continue to maintain modern capabilities to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” a base spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine on May 1 .

The Air Force has been rotating fighter aircraft through Kadena for a year and a half now to replace and supplement the base’s aging fleet of 48 F-15C/D fighters that will return to the US.

The newest F-22s join other Raptors from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, which arrived in March. Kadena also currently hosts F-16s from the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing and from the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing.

The spokesperson added that the F-16s are maintained and operated by Guardsmen, including at least some from the 114th Fighter Wing. They did not say if any 148th Fighter Wing personnel are also in Kadena.

There are still original F-15s remaining at Kadena that are scheduled to retrograde to the U.S., the spokesperson added. They declined to provide details on how many Eagles are left or the projected timeline due to operational security.

A U.S. F-22A Raptor assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron arrives at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 20, 2024. As the 18th Wing continues the phased return of Kadena’s fleet of F-15C/D Eagles, the Department of Defense will a stable fighter presence in the Indo-Pacific region by temporarily deploying aircraft to maintain deterrence capabilities and increase flexibility in a dynamic theater. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cedrique Oldaker)

U.S. F-22A Raptors assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron taxi away from the runway at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 20, 2024. While deployed to the Keystone of the Pacific, the 27th FS will work with extra-heavy reconnaissance, fighter aircraft fourth-generation and fifth-generation combat units in Kadena to ensure continued stable combat capabilities in the region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cedrique Oldaker)

A U.S. F-22A Raptor assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron arrives at Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 20, 2024. While deployed to the Keystone of the Pacific, the 27th FS will work with fourth-generation extra-heavy reconnaissance fighters. and fifth generation fighter aircraft in Kadena to ensure the continued stable combat capabilities in the region. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cedrique Oldaker

Located just 400 miles from Taiwan, Kadena is a key strategic location and can quickly deploy fighter aircraft for Pacific Air Force exercises. F-15s have been based on Okinawa Island since the 1980s. Since the Air Force announced its plans to withdraw them in October 2022, the service has maintained a stable fighter presence by rotating all Air Force fighter variants except the A-10 Thunderbolt II.

In the latest exchange, F-15s from the California and Louisiana Air National Guards that deployed to Kadena in October are leaving the site, as are F-35s from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, that arrived in November.

The newly arrived jets “will work in conjunction with additional heavy and reconnaissance assets both expanded to and based in Kadena to support Japan’s defense and maintain regional stability,” the spokesperson added. While they declined to specify the exact number of aircraft currently based at the base, recent photos of an elephant walk at the base show a wide range of types, including tankers, UAVs, reconnaissance aircraft and around two dozen combined fighter aircraft.

The US, together with Japan, has expanded deterrence efforts against China’s growing military expansion and increasing hostile activities in the region. In the past month alone, the USAF conducted two separate exercises with Japan and regional allies.

President Joe Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in April, followed by a “first of many” trilateral summits with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the next day. The leaders expressed concern over China’s “dangerous and aggressive” behavior in the South China Sea in a joint statement.