An F-16C Fighting Falcon takes off from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Jan. 13, 2025. (Catherine Daniel/U.S. Air Force)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Fighter jets deployed rotationally to the home of the 18th Wing made precautionary landings here two days in a row, according to a local newspaper.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., landed at 6:04 p.m. Thursday due to a “jammed bullet,” the Ryukyu Shimpo reported without citing sources.
That followed an F-16’s precautionary landing at 3:58 p.m. Wednesday for the same reason, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources and an uncredited photo.
Maintainers on Wednesday opened an access panel near the muzzle of the jet’s Vulcan 20 mm Gatling-style cannon, where a bullet was believed to be jammed and checked it, the report said.
The 18th Wing at Kadena acknowledged questions emailed Friday morning about those incidents but did not respond before the end of the business day.
The Air Force began rotating squadrons of more advanced warplanes through Kadena after deciding in December 2022 to retire the 48 F-15 C/D Eagles stationed there.
F-35A Lightning IIs from the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron with the Vermont Air National Guard arrived at Kadena earlier this month. They joined F-16C Fighting Falcons from the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base and F-22 Raptors from the 525th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron out of Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, according to the wing.
An F-16 also made a precautionary landing at Kadena on Jan. 13, the Ryukyu Shimpo reported at the time. A day earlier, an F-22 Raptor made a similar landing at the base, the newspaper reported. The wing has not confirmed these incidents.
On Oct. 18, two Raptors experienced tire issues. One had two tire failures while landing, and another had a “tire malfunction prior to takeoff,” according to the wing.
Earlier in October, another Raptor made a precautionary landing, following a similar incident in September involving a Raptor deployed from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
No injuries or runway damage were reported in the October incidents, the wing said at the time.
In July, the Air Force announced it would permanently base 36 F-15EX Eagles on Okinawa to replace the older F-15s, as part of a broader plan to station more advanced fighter aircraft across Japan over the next several years.
