F-35As Deployed at U.S. Misawa Base in Japan for 1st Time

Aomori, March 30 (Jiji Press)–Four advanced F-35A stealth fighters have arrived at the U.S. military’s Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, marking the first deployment of the aircraft there by the U.S. military, it was learned Monday. The F-35As arrived at the base at around 12:50 p.m. Saturday to replace F-16 fighters belonging to the U.S. Air Force’s Misawa Air Base, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Tohoku Defense Bureau. The Aomori prefectural government was informed by the bureau that four aircraft had arrived at the base around noon on Saturday. As F-35As are said to be louder than the F-16s, a senior prefectural government official said, “We hope that sufficient consideration will be given to the impact on the stability of daily life of Misawa residents.” One of the two F-16 squadrons previously assigned to the Misawa base left there in September 2025, and the remaining squadron is scheduled to leave the base in the future, according to the prefectural government and other sources. Two squadrons are slated to deploy a total of 48 F-35As eventually. The runway at the Misawa base is jointly used by the U.S. military, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and private airlines. The ASDF also plans to deploy a total of 42 F-35As at the base, with 39 currently in operation. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]