A dozen Alaskan F-35As arrive at Kadena

On 28 March 2023, twelve AK coded 355th Fighter Squadron "Falcons" Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs arrived at Kadena Air Base (Japan).

F-35A Lightning IIs from the 355th Fighter Squadron, part of the 354th Fighter Wing and normally based at Eielson AFB (AK), arrived at Kadena to ensure a continuous Fifth-generation fighter presence. This, while the 18th Wing is conducting a phased return of its legacy F-15C/D Eagles to the Continental United States (CONUS). On 30 October 2022, Scramble Magazine was one of the first to report that the USAF planned a withdrawal of their Eagles.

Altough, a diverse array of fighters are now present at Kadena, the first 525th Fighter Squadron Raptors have vacated the Japanese island back to their homebase Earlier, Scramble Magazine wrote about the arrival of Alaskan based F-22A Raptors at Kadena.

It is expected that the 355th Fighter Squadron, which started its first deployment since reaching Full Operating Capability (FOC) in February of 2023, will operate next to Spangdahlem's 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The 480th EFS "Warhawks" arrived at Kadena this past January.

As the 18th Wing continues the phased return of Kadena’s fleet of legacy Eagles, the US Department of Defense will maintain a steady-state fighter presence in the region by temporarily deploying newer and more advanced aircraft to backfill the F-15s as they retrograde. At this moment it is unknown to Scramble if a permanent solution, like the basing of new Boeing F-15EX Eagle IIs, are planned for Kadena.

Credit photos: USAF