Marine Corps F-35Bs replace Hornets in Japan under unit deployment program

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — A squadron of Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters from South Carolina has deployed to southwestern Japan for training across the Indo-Pacific.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, has joined Marine Aircraft Group 12 at MCAS Iwakuni through the service’s unit deployment program, according to a 1st Marine Aircraft Wing news release Friday.

The “Hawks” replace Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, an F/A-18 Hornet squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., group spokeswoman Capt. Brady Mallory said by email Wednesday.

The deployment swaps fourth-generation Hornets for fifth-generation F-35Bs and gives the South Carolina-based Marines an opportunity to train with U.S. and allied forces throughout the region.

An F-35B Lightning II, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, prepares to land at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2026. (Alejandra Vega/U.S. Marine Corps)

The F-35B is the Marine Corps’ variant of the joint strike fighter and is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, allowing it to operate from amphibious assault ships and austere locations ashore.

The squadron will augment the wing’s ability to provide “aviation forces capable of operating from naval and expeditionary environments,” according to the release.

The Hawks “will participate in exercises and training throughout the Indo-Pacific alongside our joint and allied partners,” Mallory said.

The Marine Corps established the unit deployment program in 1977 to rotate units into the region, Mallory said. She declined to comment on how long this deployment is expected to last, but they generally go for six months according to a Marine Corps website about the program.

Capt. Steven Richardson, center, an F-35B Lightning II pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, greets Lt. Col. William Millett, commander of Marine Aircraft Group 12, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, on Sept. 5, 2026. (Brian Long/U.S. Marine Corps)

“These rotations provide units the opportunity to train in the region and strengthen interoperability with our partners and allies and promotes regional stability,” Mallory said.

Interoperability is a term the military often uses to describe the ability of a country’s armed forces to use another’s training methods and equipment.

MCAS Iwakuni operates a single runway shared by U.S. military, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and commercial aircraft.

The base is also home to the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 5, the air component of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which is homeported at Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo and presently deployed to the Middle East.