DOD plans $10 billion for modernizing Japan-based fighters

The Defense Department will spend $10 billion over the next few years to modernize tactical aircraft based across Japan, DOD announced today.

The Air Force plans to replace 48 F-15C/D fighters with 36 F-15EXs at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and replace 35 F-16s with 48 F-35As at Misawa Air Base on the northern coast of Honshu.

The joint force will continue to rotate fouth- and fifth-generation fighters at Kadena throughout the transition to F-15EXs.

The Marine Corps will “modify the number” of F-35B fighters at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on the southwestern coast of Honshu, DOD stated.

The goals of the modernization is to “enhance the U.S.-Japan Alliance, bolster regional deterrence and strengthen peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to DOD.

The modernization at air bases in Japan comes after the Air Force announced its “Reoptimization for Great Power Competition,” which shifts the focus of service programs to the Indo-Pacific.