Flash Report: U.S. Marine Corps Swaps F-35Bs for F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets in Strategic Japan Rotation
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According to information published by the U.S. 1st Marine Aircraft Wing on September 10, 2025, a squadron of U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets has begun arriving at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, located southeast of Hiroshima, Japan, to replace a detachment of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters. The 12 F/A-18C/D Hornets, deployed under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP), are operated by Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232), known as the “Red Devils,” and are temporarily replacing the F-35Bs of VMFA-214, previously deployed from Yuma, Arizona.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, taxis on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, on September 8, 2025. (Picture source: U.S. Marine Corps)
This rotation marks a notable but temporary adjustment in the U.S. Marine Corps’ forward aviation posture in the Indo-Pacific, a region where airpower projection remains critical amid rising tensions in the South and East China Seas. The UDP deployment allows the Marine Corps to maintain continuous operational presence at Iwakuni while managing aircraft maintenance cycles, training rotations, and strategic dispersal across multiple Pacific nodes. The return of Hornets to Japan does not reflect a rollback in fifth-generation operations but rather a logistical and operational adjustment within a broader modernization framework.
MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Iwakuni remains one of the most strategically significant air bases in the Pacific for both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It is home to the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which operates from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and to Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12), which oversees fixed-wing and support units essential to expeditionary and maritime operations. Within MAG-12, two permanently stationed Marine squadrons fly the F-35B, alongside one rotational unit from Yuma, currently VMFA-211, which arrived in May 2025. MAG-12 also includes an aerial refueling squadron (VMGR-152) and multiple logistics, maintenance, and ordnance units that provide persistent support across regional deployments.
The temporary replacement of stealth-capable F-35Bs with legacy F/A-18 Hornets allows for sustained sortie generation and bilateral exercise participation while maintaining regional air presence. These deployments also contribute to the U.S.-Japan Alliance’s Theater Security Cooperation objectives, reinforcing interoperability with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and supporting the evolving concept of distributed operations across the First Island Chain.
From a strategic standpoint, the presence of U.S. Marine aviation at MCAS Iwakuni is nested within a larger framework of integrated deterrence and forward-based readiness. The base enables rapid response to regional contingencies, provides a launch platform for air interdiction and close air support missions, and supports maritime domain awareness and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) counter-operations.
In parallel, Iwakuni supports a broader network of U.S. Air Force and Navy assets across Japan, including Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and Misawa Air Base in northern Honshu. While MCAS Iwakuni primarily hosts Navy and Marine Corps units, it also serves as a forward-operating location for U.S. Air Force aircraft during joint and bilateral exercises. The U.S. Air Force’s permanent presence in Japan, particularly through the 18th Wing at Kadena, includes F-15C/D Eagles, KC-135 Stratotankers, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, all contributing to theater-wide air superiority, aerial refueling, search and rescue, and command and control missions.
This integrated air posture enhances regional stability, enables rapid joint force mobilization, and allows for layered defense coverage across air and maritime corridors critical to U.S. and allied interests. The rotational deployment of Marine Hornets at Iwakuni ensures continuity of operations while preserving the availability of advanced fifth-generation platforms for higher-priority or contested missions elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.
The Unit Deployment Program, long used by the Marine Corps to manage operational tempo and aircraft readiness, also provides invaluable training opportunities for squadron pilots, maintainers, and logistics personnel. During this rotation, VMFA-232 will participate in bilateral and multilateral exercises involving Japanese and allied forces, likely including scenarios that simulate contested airspace operations, expeditionary basing, and integrated maritime strike operations. These drills serve to strengthen tactical interoperability and test air combat capabilities in complex joint environments.
While the Corps continues to pursue full transition to the F-35B and F-35C under Force Design 2030, legacy platforms like the F/A-18 remain essential to bridging capability gaps and sustaining forward presence without interruption. The Hornet’s ability to carry a wide variety of precision-guided munitions, execute multi-role missions, and integrate into both carrier and expeditionary operations makes it a reliable, if aging, workhorse as the Corps reshapes its aviation strategy around stealth, survivability, and dispersed operations.
As U.S. force posture continues to evolve in response to shifting geopolitical realities, deployments such as this offer insight into how the Marine Corps is managing modernization, regional deterrence, and alliance commitments simultaneously. MCAS Iwakuni remains a pivotal hub in the Pacific theater, supporting not only Marine aviation but also the broader architecture of U.S. airpower that underwrites deterrence and stability in the Indo-Pacific.Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition GroupAlain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
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According to information published by the U.S. 1st Marine Aircraft Wing on September 10, 2025, a squadron of U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets has begun arriving at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, located southeast of Hiroshima, Japan, to replace a detachment of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters. The 12 F/A-18C/D Hornets, deployed under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP), are operated by Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232), known as the “Red Devils,” and are temporarily replacing the F-35Bs of VMFA-214, previously deployed from Yuma, Arizona.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, taxis on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, on September 8, 2025. (Picture source: U.S. Marine Corps)
This rotation marks a notable but temporary adjustment in the U.S. Marine Corps’ forward aviation posture in the Indo-Pacific, a region where airpower projection remains critical amid rising tensions in the South and East China Seas. The UDP deployment allows the Marine Corps to maintain continuous operational presence at Iwakuni while managing aircraft maintenance cycles, training rotations, and strategic dispersal across multiple Pacific nodes. The return of Hornets to Japan does not reflect a rollback in fifth-generation operations but rather a logistical and operational adjustment within a broader modernization framework.
MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Iwakuni remains one of the most strategically significant air bases in the Pacific for both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It is home to the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which operates from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and to Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12), which oversees fixed-wing and support units essential to expeditionary and maritime operations. Within MAG-12, two permanently stationed Marine squadrons fly the F-35B, alongside one rotational unit from Yuma, currently VMFA-211, which arrived in May 2025. MAG-12 also includes an aerial refueling squadron (VMGR-152) and multiple logistics, maintenance, and ordnance units that provide persistent support across regional deployments.
The temporary replacement of stealth-capable F-35Bs with legacy F/A-18 Hornets allows for sustained sortie generation and bilateral exercise participation while maintaining regional air presence. These deployments also contribute to the U.S.-Japan Alliance’s Theater Security Cooperation objectives, reinforcing interoperability with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and supporting the evolving concept of distributed operations across the First Island Chain.
From a strategic standpoint, the presence of U.S. Marine aviation at MCAS Iwakuni is nested within a larger framework of integrated deterrence and forward-based readiness. The base enables rapid response to regional contingencies, provides a launch platform for air interdiction and close air support missions, and supports maritime domain awareness and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) counter-operations.
In parallel, Iwakuni supports a broader network of U.S. Air Force and Navy assets across Japan, including Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and Misawa Air Base in northern Honshu. While MCAS Iwakuni primarily hosts Navy and Marine Corps units, it also serves as a forward-operating location for U.S. Air Force aircraft during joint and bilateral exercises. The U.S. Air Force’s permanent presence in Japan, particularly through the 18th Wing at Kadena, includes F-15C/D Eagles, KC-135 Stratotankers, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, all contributing to theater-wide air superiority, aerial refueling, search and rescue, and command and control missions.
This integrated air posture enhances regional stability, enables rapid joint force mobilization, and allows for layered defense coverage across air and maritime corridors critical to U.S. and allied interests. The rotational deployment of Marine Hornets at Iwakuni ensures continuity of operations while preserving the availability of advanced fifth-generation platforms for higher-priority or contested missions elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.
The Unit Deployment Program, long used by the Marine Corps to manage operational tempo and aircraft readiness, also provides invaluable training opportunities for squadron pilots, maintainers, and logistics personnel. During this rotation, VMFA-232 will participate in bilateral and multilateral exercises involving Japanese and allied forces, likely including scenarios that simulate contested airspace operations, expeditionary basing, and integrated maritime strike operations. These drills serve to strengthen tactical interoperability and test air combat capabilities in complex joint environments.
While the Corps continues to pursue full transition to the F-35B and F-35C under Force Design 2030, legacy platforms like the F/A-18 remain essential to bridging capability gaps and sustaining forward presence without interruption. The Hornet’s ability to carry a wide variety of precision-guided munitions, execute multi-role missions, and integrate into both carrier and expeditionary operations makes it a reliable, if aging, workhorse as the Corps reshapes its aviation strategy around stealth, survivability, and dispersed operations.
As U.S. force posture continues to evolve in response to shifting geopolitical realities, deployments such as this offer insight into how the Marine Corps is managing modernization, regional deterrence, and alliance commitments simultaneously. MCAS Iwakuni remains a pivotal hub in the Pacific theater, supporting not only Marine aviation but also the broader architecture of U.S. airpower that underwrites deterrence and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
