Japanese F-15s encounter third malfunction in a month on Okinawa

A Japanese F-15 Eagle made a precautionary landing at an Air Force base on Okinawa late Wednesday after a hydraulic malfunction, the third incident involving the fighter on Okinawa in a month.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force jet landed at Kadena Air Base at 11:13 p.m. after its pilot detected the problem, a command spokesman said by phone the following day.

The spokesman could not say whether the aircraft was a single-seat F-15J or two-seat F-15DJ, or whether it remained at Kadena on Thursday. The malfunction’s cause is under investigation.

The fighter used the runway’s arresting system during the landing and was towed from the flight line shortly after 3 a.m., the Ryukyu Shimpo reported Thursday, citing an eyewitness.

The 18th Wing at Kadena referred questions Thursday to the Air Self-Defense Force.

Wednesday’s landing followed two incidents involving F-15Js at nearby Naha Airport in recent weeks.

An F-15J suffered a landing-gear failure while touching down there on Aug. 18, closing one of the airport’s two runways for more than four hours. The Air Self-Defense Force subsequently suspended F-15J flights before allowing them to resume Sept. 1.

On Sept. 10, another F-15J made a precautionary landing at Naha after its pilot detected a hydraulic-system malfunction, and the runway was closed for about an hour.

Both incidents remain under investigation, the spokesman said Thursday. Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

Naha Airport serves commercial airlines as well as the Air Self-Defense Force’s 9th Air Wing. Its F-15 squadrons are responsible for defending Japanese airspace around the country’s southwestern islands, including the Senkakus, an uninhabited chain administered by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.