Japanese F-15 disrupts Okinawa flights in second incident in less than a month

A Japanese F-15 made a precautionary landing at Okinawa’s main civilian airport Thursday, disrupting more than a dozen commercial flights in the second incident involving the aircraft there in less than a month.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15J Eagle touched down on Runway B at Naha Airport at 7:16 p.m. after its pilot detected a hydraulic-system malfunction, a command spokesman said by phone Friday.

The fighter used the runway’s arresting system during the landing, which may have produced sparks as the aircraft engaged it, the spokesman said.

The pilot was not injured, and the extent of any damage to the fighter was still being assessed Friday, he said.

The F-15 had been scrambled and was returning when the malfunction occurred, said the spokesman, who declined to provide details of the mission.

The runway was closed for about an hour while emergency crews responded and the aircraft was removed, delaying 14 commercial flights, an airport official said by phone Friday. Some flights were delayed by more than 20 minutes.

Naha, one of Japan’s busiest airports, has two runways. All operations were shifted to the other runway during the closure, the official said.

The Air Self-Defense Force spokesman declined to say when or how the F-15 was removed. The malfunction’s cause remains under investigation, and he declined to say whether F-15Js would be grounded after the incident.

Some Japanese government officials must speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

Thursday’s incident came shortly after F-15Js resumed flying Sept. 1 following another incident at Naha Airport on Aug. 18.

In that case, an F-15J suffered a landing-gear failure as it touched down, closing the same runway for more than four hours.

Naha Airport serves commercial airlines and the Air Self-Defense Force’s 9th Air Wing, part of the Southwestern Air Defense Force. Its F-15 squadrons are responsible for defending Japanese airspace around the country’s southwestern islands.

It conducted 348 of Japan’s 595 fighter scrambles in fiscal 2025, most involving Chinese aircraft, according to the Joint Staff. Japan’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.