3
13
The United States Navy is expected to deploy the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter to Japan after 2021 as part of an enhanced deterrence posture against China. According to a Japanese news report in the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Navy will deploy the stealthy single-engine strike aircraft to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.
“Carrier Air Wing [CVW] 5. will receive the F-35C Lightning II sometime after 2021,” a U.S. Navy official told the Yomiuri Shimbun. “The F-35C’s [squadrons] will forward deploy to MCAS Iwakuni.”