Crew members wave as a UH-1N Huey helicopter makes a farwell visit to the Akasaka Press Center in central Tokyo, Aug. 29, 2025. (Marc Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)
AKASAKA PRESS CENTER, Tokyo — Two UH-1N Huey helicopters soared past gleaming glass skyscrapers Friday as the storied aircraft paid a farewell visit to the city’s Roppongi district.
The 459th Airlift Squadron is retiring its Hueys, which have flown out of Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo for decades.
The trip to Roppongi was part of the Hueys’ fini flight, a military tradition for pilots, particularly in the Air Force, when they retire or depart a unit.
The helicopters carried 16 airmen who waved to onlookers and posed for photos after landing at the press center around 11 a.m. Dozens of Defense Department employees and service members gathered at the heliport to mark the occasion.
The 374th Airlift Wing denied a request to interview the pilots after touchdown, saying a media event is being planned at Yokota to mark the Huey’s retirement. The wing didn’t respond to a phone call and follow up email Friday asking about potential replacements.
A pair of UH-1N Huey helicopters make a farewell visit to the Akasaka Press Center in central Tokyo, Aug. 29, 2025. (Marc Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)
Akasaka Press Center employees see off a pair of UH-1N Huey helicopters making a farewell trip to the small U.S. base in central Tokyo, Aug. 29, 2025. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Akasaka Press Center employees see off a UH-1N Huey helicopter making a farewell trip to the small U.S. base in central Tokyo, Aug. 29, 2025. (Marc Castaneda/Stars and Stripes)
At Akasaka, the crew members toured the press center and had lunch before the aircraft departed around 2 p.m., waved off by a crowd of around 70 U.S. and Japanese employees.
For years, the Hueys ferried VIPs and U.S. military personnel to the helipad behind Stars and Stripes’ Pacific headquarters. The small central Tokyo base, which includes the Hardy Barracks lodging facility, sits between Aoyama Cemetery and the Roppongi Hills shopping district and is near the U.S. Embassy and Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
U.S. Forces Japan recently placed a contingent inside the press center to strengthen coordination between its Yokota headquarters and Japanese defense officials.
The first Hueys at Yokota — UH-1P models — arrived in 1971 and were later replaced by the twin-engine UH-1N variant, according to the base website. Developed by Bell Helicopter in the 1950s, the UH-1 series became iconic during the Vietnam War and earned a reputation for versatility, from troop transport to combat air support.
The Air Force plans to replace the UH-1N with Boeing’s MH-139A Grey Wolf, based on the commercial AW139. The new helicopter flies 50% faster, travels 50% farther and carries 5,000 more pounds than the Huey, with a cabin 30% larger, according to the service.
However, the Air Force cut its planned Grey Wolf purchase from 74 to 42 aircraft last year, according to budget documents cited in a March 2024 report by defense publisher Janes.
