48 Brand New F-35A Stealth Fighters Will Soon Be Based in China’s Backyard

48 Brand New F-35A Stealth Fighters Will Soon Be Based in China’s Backyard

Misawa Air Base in northern Japan is about to get a serious upgrade. The Pentagon is replacing the 36 F-16 Fighting Falcons currently flying out of the installation with 48 brand-new F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters—a permanent deployment of America’s most advanced tactical aircraft along the first island chain. The move comes as the Trump administration sharpens its Indo-Pacific posture against China, North Korea, and Russia, and as Japan’s …

U.S. Air Force deploys first permanently assigned F-35A Lightning II fighters to Misawa Air Base in Japan

The 35th Fighter Wing held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally induct the aircraft into the Fifth Air Force fleet. Officials said the move represents the first phase of the Department of the Air Force’s plan to permanently assign fifth-generation fighter squadrons to the region. The 35th Operations Group first received the aircraft on March 28 as part of a force posture adjustment that has been under development for a decade. Under the transit…