U.S. Marine Corps sends F-35B jets to Japan

An F-35B fighter squadron from South Carolina has taken over rotational duty in Japan, replacing a Hornet squadron under a U.S. Marine Corps program that keeps U.S.-based units cycling through the Pacific.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533, known as the Hawks, arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on September 5 under the Unit Deployment Program. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, and now joins Marine Aircraft Group 12, part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, in the Indo-Pacific region.

VMFA-533 replaces VMFA-232, the Red Devils, which had held the rotational slot since arriving from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, in September 2025.

The Unit Deployment Program sends Marine Corps units based in the continental United States to Japan on a rotating basis, giving them experience operating in the Indo-Pacific without permanently moving personnel and families overseas. The Marine Corps has run the program since 1980, when VMFA-533’s own predecessor squadron became the first unit to deploy under it.

This marks the Hawks’ first Unit Deployment Program rotation flying the F-35B. The squadron received its first F-35B Lightning II at Beaufort on October 11, 2024, after decades flying the F/A-18D Hornet. VMFA-533 has deployed to Iwakuni under the program multiple times before, most recently with Hornets in 2018, but arrives this time with the short takeoff and vertical landing jet that has become standard across Marine Corps fighter squadrons.

Iwakuni already hosts other F-35B squadrons alongside F/A-18D Hornets and KC-130J refueling aircraft. The base also supports elements of the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 5.

The Marine Corps said the deployment supports the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security and gives the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing additional combat-ready aviation forces able to operate from naval and expeditionary sites. The Marine Corps did not disclose how many aircraft or personnel deployed with VMFA-533 or how long the rotation is expected to last.