An F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, taxis at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, May 6, 2025. (Amy Kelley/U.S. Air Force)
A stealth fighter made a precautionary landing at Kadena Air Base last week, marking the latest in a series of similar incidents at the Okinawa installation since January, according to a local media report.
The F-35A Lightning II touched down on the base’s southern runway at 11:35 a.m. Friday, the Okinawa Times reported the following day, citing an uncredited photo. Maintainers inspected the aircraft, which was towed to the tarmac about 40 minutes later, the report said.
The 18th Wing at Kadena declined to confirm the incident in an email to Stars and Stripes on Monday.
“Precautionary landings are standard procedure when pilots notice something out of the ordinary with their aircraft,” an unsigned statement said. “We are committed to conducting safe flight operations as we uphold our defense commitments.”
The incident follows several other precautionary landings at Kadena in recent months.
On April 3, an F-35A landed at the base and was met by emergency vehicles, according to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Ministry of Defense. The aircraft experienced an oil leak, according to an Okinawa Times report citing an unnamed ministry official.
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons made precautionary landings at Kadena on Jan 29 and 30 due to possible “jammed bullets,” the Ryukyu Shimpo reported at the time. An F-16 made a precautionary landing there on Jan. 13, followed by an F-22 Raptor on Jan. 12.
The 18th Wing has not confirmed those incidents.
Kadena has relied on rotational deployments of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters since the Air Force began phasing out the wing’s aging fleet of F-15C/D fighters in 2022.
Since April, Kadena has hosted F-35As from the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
In July, the Air Force announced it would permanently station 36 F-15EX Eagle IIs at Kadena to replace the retired fleet. The new aircraft are expected to begin arriving between March and June 2026, wing commander Brig Gen. Nicholas Evans said in March.
