First USAF F-35s Permanently Based in Japan Arrive at Misawa

Misawa Air Base welcomed its first permanently assigned U.S. F-35A fighters March 28, marking the first time the Air Force has based F-35s on Japan.

The F-35s are being assigned to the 13th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the “Panther Pack.” The squadron is underneath the 35th Fighter Wing, which flew the F-16 Fighting Falcon starting in 1994.

“Bringing the F-35 to Misawa underscores our long-standing commitment to Japan and the region,” said wing commander Col. Paul Davidson in a release. “It strengthens our ability to respond quickly and operate seamlessly with our Japanese partners.”

The focus of the squadron will be suppression of enemy air defense, or SEAD, also known as the “Wild Weasel” mission.

“The Wild Weasels stand ready to defeat any threat in our area of responsibility and beyond,” Col. Jeromy Guinther, 35th Operations Group commander, said in the release. “As you lay the foundation for Misawa’s upgrade to a fighter integration wing, remember your Wild Weasel legacy, stay ready and lethal, and continue to contribute to the Panthers’ many generations of excellence.”

The Air Force has delivered F-35s to more than a dozen bases since 2011. Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska became the first installation under Pacific Air Forces to receive the F-35 in 2020, and RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom became the first foreign base to get the fighter in 2021. In 2024, the service announced plans to put 48 F-35As at Misawa.

The jets that arrived March 28 are not the first F-35s to be based on Japan. The U.S. Marine Corps operates two permanently stationed F-35 squadrons at Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force operates both F-35As and Bs, including at Misawa.

The USAF fighters’ arrival bolsters the service’s capabilities in a strategic location just a few hundred miles from China, Russia, and North Korea.

“The F-35 was tailor-made to be a ‘Weasel’ platform,” Lt. Col. John Widmer, 13th Fighter Squadron commander, said in the release. “Where legacy platforms performed the Wild Weasel mission with bolted-on sensors or weapons, the F-35 was built from the ground up as a sensor platform with the sensor fusion and quarterback capability we bring to the fight.”

The F-35 is a stealth fighter and carries a host of sophisticated sensors not available on legacy aircraft.

“The sensor package we bring to the fight allows us to sense the threat and manage the entire spectrum of what the enemy is fielding at us right now,” Widmer said. “It’s constantly updating, constantly getting upgraded, and as we continue forward, it’s the place I want to be if I need to go to war.”

That will mean reorienting how the squadron fights as well.

“The biggest shift is moving from a platform-centric mindset to a network-centric one,” said Master Sgt. Ron Allen Olaes, 13th Fighter Squadron senior enlisted leader, in January release. “The F-35 isn’t just a fighter; it’s an information node. Understanding how it gathers and shares data is critical, especially when working with allies in the Indo-Pacific.”

The Air Force is in the midst of major changes to its posture in East Asia.

The F-16s from the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa permanently transferred to Osan Air Base, South Korea, in June 2025, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported at the time. Those F-16s replaced aging F-15C/Ds and A-10s under the 51st Fighter Wing in South Korea and feature upgraded features like a new active electronically scanned array radar.

The month after that shift in July, the 7th Air Force, which commands air assets in South Korea, announced it was moving 31 F-16s from Kunsan Air Base north to Osan, near the border with North Korea. The move was meant as a second phase of a “Super Squadron” test that started in 2024 with nine F-16s going to Kunsan to Osan.

The super squadron test was separate from the permanent move of F-16s from Misawa to Osan.

Back in Japan, Kadena Air Base on Okinawa is still awaiting the delivery of new F-15EX fighters to replace the permanently stationed F-15C/Ds it started phasing out in 2022. Over the past four years, fighter squadrons have rotated through Kadena—less than 400 miles from Taiwan—to maintain its fighter presence at the base.

The plan is to put 36 F-15EXs at Kadena, but the first of those deliveries, originally planned for between March and June, have been delayed due to strikes at manufacturer Boeing’s plant in late 2025, Air & Space Forces Magazine previously reported.

Just a few days before the F-35s arrived as Misawa, the Pentagon formally split the U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force commands, putting a three-star general in charge of 5th Air Force, which oversees the 35th Fighter Wing.

Still more changes could be coming—the Korea Herald reported last year that a South Korean official confirmed the U.S. military was looking to permanently station F-35s at Kunsan. That move, however, was never confirmed.

The Republic of Korea Air Force already operates 39 F-35s, based at Cheongju Air Base, South Korea. The force expects a batch of 20 F-35s to become operational in 2027.

U.S. Air Force F-35 Locations

*Locations in bold are planned