This article is excerpted from the original article of Jane's Defence Weekly in United Kingdom on November 12, 2022, and is for reference only.
The Kadena base of the US military in Okinawa is the largest air base of the US military with rapid reaction combat capability outside the mainland, covering an area of nearly 20 square kilometers.
Beginning November 1, 2022, the United States Air Force began withdrawing two squadrons of F-15C/D fighters from Kadena Base in Okinawa, Japan. The 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons of the 18th Wing at the base have a total of at least 48 F-15 fighters, which have been in service for 30 to 40 years and are approaching the upper limit of their lifespan, and they will be retired in stages over two years.
嘉手纳基地中的F-15C/D战斗机
Hangar at Kadena Air Force Base in United States
The Air Force also hopes to cut another 61 F-15C fighter jets in fiscal 2023, bringing the size of the aircraft to 107, about half the size of fiscal 2021. After that, the United States Air Force will temporarily rotate fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft to Kadena Base to maintain military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region and the U.S.-Japan alliance. On November 4, 2022, F-22A fighter jets of the 3rd Wing based at Joint Base Elmondov-Richardson in Alaska arrived in Kadena, but their presence was only planned for half a year.
In 2012, several F-22A fighters from the 1st Fighter Wing stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, the U.S. mainland, flew to Kadena Air Force Base for temporary deployment.
The long-term deployment plan at the base, which considers the use of F-15EX or F-35A fighter jets, but has not yet been decided whether to deploy them permanently there, has raised concerns among some lawmakers who see it as sending the wrong signal to China and more about a militarily credible posture. And it means that the U.S. military has 1/4 fewer permanent fighter squadrons west of the International Date Line.
Some argue that F-15C/D fighter jets are obsolete anyway and that Okinawa faces a Chinese missile threat, but the United States Air Force has not announced a permanent deployment of fifth-generation fighters in the region or a more secure second island chain base. In fact, the United States Air Force has no intention of leaving Kadena, and the fiscal year 2022 and 2023 budgets have requested $232 million and $148 million, respectively, for the construction of the base.
F-15EX fighter
If the rotating fighters are drawn from other bases in the Pacific, it means that the east wall will be torn down to make up for the west wall, and the absolute strength of the US military in the region will still decline. While fighter jets can be deployed quickly, some crisis situations have a different outcome for hours.
The U.S. military has so far arranged six air bases, four National Guard bases and one reserve base for F-35A fighters, plus the only overseas base in United Kingdom, none of which is in the Indo-Pacific theater. The latest F-15EX fighters also did not unequivocally fill the gap in Okinawa. So the lawmakers asked Congress to force the United States Air Force to revise its decision.
United States Air Force F-35A fighter
F-388A of the 35th Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force and F-15J of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
However, United States plans to send six nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers to northern Australia, and the United States Air Force has temporarily established the 319th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kayaya Air Base in Japan, and has deployed eight MQ-9 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and 200 personnel since the end of October to strengthen surveillance of China.
MQ-9 UAV
KC-30 provides in-flight refueling for the B-52H.