U.S. to deploy 12 F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets to Japan

The U.S. Air Force has announced it is about to deploy “approximately 12 F-22 Raptors and about 300 personnel from Langley Air Force Base, Va.” to Kadena airbase, in Japan.

The deployment is expected in the next few days and its purpose is demonstrate Washington’s commitment to stability and security in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The aircraft will operate with the Kadena’s resident 18th Wing, which hosts the largest combat wing in the U.S. Air Force composed by F-15s, E-3s AWACS, KC-135s and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters.

The USAF has been rotating fighters to Pacific Command bases since March 2004, “in order to maintain a prudent deterrent against threats to regional security and stability,” according to the statement on the Air Force’s website.

U.S. continues to provide a Theater Security Package in the region by routinely deploying aircraft to the Pacific, a theater characterized by regional disputes and China’s growing naval ambitions.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.