Founding and early history In 1961 the squadron was formed at
Hachinohe Air Base in
Aomori Prefecture with six
Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune and six
Grumman S-2F Tracker aircraft as part of
Fleet Air Wing 2. In 1963 it moved to
Shimofusa Air Base in
Chiba Prefecture and came under the authority of
Fleet Air Wing 4. In 1966 it received
P-2J aircraft. In 1968 a detachment at
MCAS Iwakuni in
Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. In 1968 the squadron was removed from Fleet Air Wing 4's command and was placed directly under the control of the
Fleet Air Force. In 1981 it moved to Atsugi Naval Air Facility in Kanagawa Prefecture
After move to Atsugi (2017) Later in 1981 the squadron received
Lockheed P-3C Orion aircraft, and in 1983 the Iwakuni detachment was disbanded. In 1989 the squadron received
Sikorsky MH-53E aircraft and in 1991 it received
SH-60J aircraft. In 1995 it received a UP-3C for equipment testing.
21st century (2016) In 2002 it received
XSH-60K (USH-60K) aircraft. In 2006 it received
MCH-101 aircraft and in 2013 it received
Kawasaki P-1 aircraft. In 2014 it received
Lockheed C-130R Hercules aircraft. During efforts to sell the aircraft to the UK, a pair of P-1s including one belonging to of the squadron were present for the 2015
Royal International Air Tattoo, one aircraft performing a flying display while the other was on static display; this was the first time that any Japanese military aircraft had performed in a European flight display. After their UK appearance, the P-1s proceeded to the
Japan Self-Defense Force Base Djibouti at
Ambouli International Airport,
Djibouti, to continue with operational trials within tropical and desert climates. ==Squadron structure==