An F-22 Raptor fighter jet flies over Southern California in late 2025. Roughly a dozen F-22 Raptors recently landed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. (Shutterstock/ranchorunner)

US Air Force F-22 Raptors Are Now at the ‘Keystone of the Pacific’

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Kadena Air Base, the US Air Force’s primary airbase on Okinawa, recently retired its fleet of aging F-15 Eagles, but still lacks a permanent replacement.

Approximately a dozen F-22 Raptors are now deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan, as part of a “rotation designed to strengthen regional interoperability and maintain a persistent, high-tech presence in the Indo-Pacific,” the United States Pacific Fleet announced on Wednesday.

The fifth-generation air superiority fighters are assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 27th Fighter Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. Although the US Air Force didn’t confirm the number, the Okinawa Times, a local Okinawa newspaper, reported that six of the aircraft flew from Alaska, arriving on May 3. An additional six aircraft had landed at the base, known as the “Keystone of the Pacific” for its strategic location on........

© The National Interest