Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the
Battle of Okinawa in April 1945, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named
Yara Hikojo near the village of Kadena. The airfield, used by the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, was one of the first targets of the
Tenth United States Army 7th Infantry Division. The United States seized it from the Japanese during the battle.
World War II What the Americans captured was a strip of badly damaged coral runway. "The initial work at Kadena was accomplished by the 1901st Aviation Engineer Battalion
7th U.S. Infantry Division and Naval Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit CBMU 624 on 4 April", by nightfall the same day, the runway could accept emergency landings. Eight days later, and after some of coral were added, the airfield was declared operational and put into immediate service by artillery spotting aircraft. Additional construction was performed by the 807th Engineering Aviation Battalion to improve the airfield for
USAAF fighter and bomber use with fuel tank farms, a new
bituminous runway, and a runway for bomber aircraft, by August. Kadena airfield was initially under the control of
Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters
Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from
RAF High Wycombe England. Upon reassignment, its headquarters element absorbed the command staff of the inactivated
XX Bomber Command. Kadena was used by the headquarters staff for nationalists' requirements. Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces with a mission to train new
B-29 Superfortress bomber groups arriving from the United States for combat missions against Japan. In the planned
invasion of Japan, the mission of Eighth Air Force would be to conduct
strategic bombing raids from Okinawa. However, the
atomic bombings of Japan led to the Japanese surrender before Eighth Air Force saw action in the
Pacific theater. The surrender of Japanese forces in the
Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September. General
Joseph Stilwell accepted the surrender in an area that would later become Kadena's Stearley Heights housing area. Known World War II units assigned to Kadena were: •
319th Bombardment Group (Light) (July–November 1945) (
A-26 Invader)Assigned to Seventh Air Force and flew missions to Japan and China, attacking airdromes, shipping,
marshalling yards, industrial centers, and other objectives. •
317th Troop Carrier Group (August–September 1945) (
C-46 Commando,
C-47 Skytrain)Assigned to Seventh Air Force in the Philippines. Deployed aircraft to Kadena and flew courier and passenger routes to Japan,
Guam,
Korea, and the Philippines, and transported freight and personnel in the area. •
333d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – May 1946) (B-29)Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. For a time after the war the group ferried Allied prisoners of war from Japan to the Philippines. Inactivated May 1946. •
346th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (August 1945 – June 1946) (B-29)Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. After the war the group participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan and for a time ferried Allied prisoners of war from Okinawa to the Philippines. Inactivated June 1946. •
316th Bombardment Wing (September 1945 – June 1948)Assigned to Eighth Air Force for planned invasion of Japan. Operations terminated before the group could enter combat. Reassigned to
U.S. Far East Air Forces January 1946. Redesignated as 316th Composite Wing in January 1946, and 316th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) in May 1946. Inactivated June 1948. •
413th Fighter Group (November 1945 – October 1946) (
P-47N)Assigned to Eighth Air Force and served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. Inactivated October 1946. On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to
MacDill AAF, Florida. It was replaced by the
1st Air Division which directed fighter reconnaissance, and bomber organizations and provided air defense for the Ryukyu Islands until December 1948.
Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.
Korean War The
Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence on Okinawa. On 15 February 1951, the U.S. Naval Facility, Naha, was activated and later became commissioned on 18 April. Commander Fleet Activities, Ryukyus was commissioned on 8 March 1957. On 15 May 1972, upon reversion of Okinawa to Japanese administration, the two organizations were combined to form Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa. With the relocations of Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa to Kadena Air Base on 7 May 1975, the title then became Commander Fleet Activities, Okinawa/US Naval Air Facility, Kadena. Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.
Fifth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena. Known major postwar USAAF/USAF units assigned to Kadena have been: •
6th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (June 1947 – October 1948) (B-29)Participated in show-of-force flights over Japan and dropped food and other relief supplies to newly freed Allied prisoners of war. Inactivated October 1948. •
71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (August 1948 – October 1948) (
F-5,
F-6, RF-51,
RF-61)Equipped with reconnaissance aircraft, flew aerial photographing missions over Japan and southern Korea. Inactivated October 1948. The 71st Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena. •
32d Composite Wing (August 1948 – April 1949) (
RB/SB-17G, C-46, RB/SB-29)Replaced 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Provided photographic reconnaissance and search and rescue support. The 32d Air Base Group provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena. • 6332d Air Base Group (April 1949 – January 1950) (redesignated 6332d Air Base Wing (January 1950 – May 1955), 6313th Air Base Wing (October 1957 – December 1964))Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena. •
19th Bombardment Group (Medium) (July 1950 – May 1954) (B-29)Deployed from
Andersen AFB,
Guam. Flew combat missions over Korea. Reassigned May 1954 to
Pinecastle AFB, Florida. •
22d Bombardment Group (Medium) (July 1950 – October 1950) (B-29)Deployed from
March AFB, California. Flew combat missions over Korea •
307th Bombardment Group (Medium) (September 1950 – February 1951) (B-29)Deployed from
MacDill AFB Florida to engage in combat operations during the Korean War. While on Okinawa, the 307th was awarded the
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its air strikes against enemy forces in Korea. It was also awarded the
Distinguished Unit Citation and several campaign streamers. The 307th BG returned from deployment during February 1951, however elements of the group remained deployed on Okinawa on a semi-permanent basis until 1954. •
581st Air Resupply Group (September 1953 – September 1956) (B-29)reassigned from the inactivating 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing at
Clark AB, Philippines. Performed unconventional warfare and counterinsurgency psychological operations. Inactivated and mission transferred to U.S. Navy. At the end of the
Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.
18th Wing On 1 November 1954, the
18th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived from
Osan Air Base,
South Korea. Under changing designations, the wing has been the main USAF flying force at Kadena for over 50 years. The wing has maintained assigned aircraft, crews, and supporting personnel in readiness to respond to orders from Fifth Air Force and
Pacific Air Forces. The wing initially was flying three squadrons of
North American F-86 Sabre: the
12th,
44th and
67th Fighter Squadrons. The wing flew tactical fighter sorties from Okinawa, and made frequent deployments to South Korea, Japan,
Formosa, and the
Philippines. In 1957, the wing upgraded to the
F-100 Super Sabre and the designation was changed to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing. In 1960, a tactical reconnaissance mission was added to the wing with the arrival of the
McDonnell F-101 Voodoo and the
15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.
Vietnam War era site 10 on Kadena Air Base. It was abandoned in 1973. Beginning in 1961, the 18th TFW was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to
South Vietnam and
Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance jets, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the
Vietnam War. Originally assigned to
31st ADA Brigade of Fort Bliss, they were reassigned to the
94th AAMDC,
USINDOPACOM. The move was part of the
BRAC consolidation of U.S. Army bases and security agreements between the U.S. and Japan. The battalion's mission is to defend the base against
tactical ballistic missiles from North Korea. The deployment was controversial on Okinawa, being greeted with protests.
Potential F-15EX deployment In late 2023,
Nikkei Asia reported that the US Air Force would permanently station
Boeing F-15EX Eagle II jets at Kadena Air Base. That total would be down from the 48 F-15C Eagle jets which were previously permanently stationed there.
Foreign units Australia and New Zealand In early September 2018, Australian
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister
Winston Peters stated that it was in their interest to aid both Japan and the United States against North Korea with patrol aircraft. These units would provide additional capability to prevent North Korean vessels conducting illegal trading out at sea in violation of UN sanctions. The
Royal Australian Air Force deployed two
AP-3C aircraft, along with a P-3K2 Orion from the
RNZAF. RAAF P-8 Poseidons have subsequently been periodically deployed to Kadena as part of
Operation Argos. RNZAF Orions also periodically operate from Kadena, with four such deployments having been made as of April 2021.
Canada The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
CP-140 Auroras are based in Kadena when conducting surveillance operations against North Korean smuggling missions under Operation Neon.
Other units Other major units assigned to Kadena since 1954 have been: •
313th Air Division (March 1955 – October 1991)Assumed responsibility for air defense of the Ryukyu Islands and tactical operations in the Far East, maintaining assigned forces at the highest possible degree of combat readiness. In addition, it supported Fifth Air Force in the development, planning, and coordination of requirements for future Air Force operations in the Ryukyu Islands. The division also supported numerous exercises such as
Cope Thunder, Cope Diamond,
Team Spirit and Cope North. Provided base host unit support for organizations assigned to Kadena (May 1955 – October 1957, December 1964 – October 1974). The newly considated 18th Wing replaced the 313th Air Division in 1991. • Kadena Task Force (Provisional) (SAC) (May 1955 – May 1958) (
RB/ERB-47H)Performed Electronic Reconnaissance and
Countermeasures activities. •
498th Tactical Missile Group (February 1961 – October 1969) (
TM-76B/CGM-13B)Equipped with the TM-76B, renumbered in 1963 to CGM-13B Mace guided
cruise missile, four hard site launch sites. •
4252d Strategic Wing (SAC) (January 1965 – April 1970)
376th Strategic Wing (SAC) (April 1970 – August 1973) (
B-52, KC-135, EC-135)Activated by SAC at Kadena. Replaced 4252nd Strategic Wing. Conducted B-52 combat operations in Southeast Asia from January 1965 to September 1970, when
Arc Light Missions from the base were terminated. The distance to targets in South Vietnam resulted in reduced payload and greater air-refueling demands for Kadena and Guam based B-52s and from April 1967 the USAF began basing B-52s at
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, this together with Japanese opposition to the war led to reducing B-52 operations from Kadena. Conducted KC-135 air refueling and RC-135 electronic reconnaissance from April 1970 to 1991. Conducted airborne radio relay operations, April–November 1970, February–June 1971 and March 1972 – August 1973. Until 1991, the wing controlled the 909th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135A/Q/R) and supported rotational reconnaissance aircraft (
TR-1,
SR-71) after the inactivation of the 9th SRW in 1974. The Wing was inactivated at Kadena on 30 October 1991 with the drawdown of strategic forces. Its mission was absorbed by the 18th Wing. •
9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SAC) (1968–1974) (
A-12, SR-71)Deployed from
Beale Air Force Base, California, Performed
strategic reconnaissance over North Vietnam and Laos. In March 1968 SR-71's began arriving at Kadena from
Beale AFB. On 15 March Det OL-8 was declared Operational Ready for SR-71 sorties. The SR-71s averaged approximately one sortie a week for nearly two years. By 1970, the SR-71s were averaging two sorties per week. By 1972, the SR-71 was flying nearly one sortie every day. While deployed on Okinawa, the SR-71s and their aircrew members gained the nickname
Habu (as did the A-12s preceding them) after a southeast Asian
pit viper which the Okinawans thought the plane resembled. With the completion of each mission a "Habu" was painted on the bird. The SR 71 mission on Okinawa ended in 1990. • 18th Combat Support Wing (1985–1991)The 18 CSW was originally the 18th Combat Support Group of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing before being elevated to a Wing in 1985. It acted as the installation management command and controlled all the services required to run the installation. With the consolidation of numerous missions into the 18th Wing in 1991, the 18 CSW was downgraded and redesignated the 18th Support Group. It was redesignated again as the 18th Mission Support Group in 2002.
Beacon ==Role and operations==