Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Mickus, commander of the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, right, greets Air Force Lt. Col. Shaun Loomis, 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, at Kadena Air Base, Japan, March 28, 2023. (Tylir Meyer/U.S. Air Force)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighters touched down at Kadena Air Base this week as part of a rotating force of advanced fighters replacing an aging fleet of F-15 Eagles.

The Lightning IIs of the 355^th Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, arrived Tuesday on their first deployment since the squadron became fully capable in February, squadron commander Lt. Col. Michael Mickus said in an 18^th Wing news release.

“Operating from Kadena offers the Falcon ops and maintenance an important opportunity to hone our skills and processes to execute efficiently and effectively in a sustained deployment environment while working alongside the joint force and our allies,” Mickus said, referring to the unit call sign, the Fightin’ Falcons.

An F-35A Lightning II from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, lands at Kadena Air Base, Japan, March 28, 2023. (Alexis Redin/U.S. Air Force)

The squadron is the latest in a round of incoming fighters from as far away as Germany sent since November to relieve two retiring squadrons of F-15 Eagles at Kadena, an important fighter base with proximity to Taiwan. F-15s flew from Kadena for 43 years.

The Air Force announced plans Oct. 28 to replace the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons with rotating units of more advanced, fifth-generation F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. The first contingent of about a dozen Raptors, from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, arrived at Kadena in early November. A dozen F-16CM Fighting Falcons arrived in January from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

The phased withdrawal of 48 Eagle fighters will take place over two years, according to the Air Force.

The 18th Wing declined Wednesday to say how many F-35s arrived from Alaska. The Okinawa Times newspaper, citing unnamed sources, reported that day that 12 Lightning IIs landed at the base.

The deployment is temporary, according to an email Wednesday from 18^th Wing spokesman 1st Lt. Robert Dabbs.

“As we progress through this transitory phase, the Department of Defense will continue to maintain a steady-state fighter presence in the region by temporarily deploying newer and more advanced aircraft to backfill the F-15s as they return to the United States,” Dabbs said.

While in Okinawa, the F-35s will work with other fighter units to “ensure continued steady-state fighter capabilities in the region,” according to a wing statement on its website Tuesday.

The squadron plans to “rotate personnel and equipment to multiple operating locations,” and the F-35s’ arrival may mean other aircraft return to their home stations.

A decision on permanent replacements for the F-15s is still in the air, Dabbs said.

“All of the proposals under consideration include advanced capabilities that are superior to the F-15 C/D” Eagles, he said. The Air Force plans to “provide backfill solutions that maintain regional deterrence and bolster our ability to uphold our treaty obligations to Japan.”

The F-35A Lightning II is the conventional takeoff-and-landing version of the fifth-generation fighter. Made by Lockheed Martin, the multirole fighter combines “stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness.”

The most advanced fighter in the United States’ arsenal has come under scrutiny in recent years due to the program’s ballooning budget and reports of underperformance.

The next batch of F-15s will depart Kadena “over the coming months,” Dabbs wrote. The jets will leave once “sufficient” forces are in place “to ensure no gap in steady state fighter presence,” he said.