U.S. Marine Corps Sends F-35B Squadron to Japan to Bolster Indo-Pacific Readiness

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533 deployed F-35B Lightning II aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, arriving on September 5 under the Unit Deployment Program. The Hawks joined Marine Aircraft Group 12 and replaced VMFA-232's F/A-18 Hornets in the rotational slot, bringing short-takeoff and vertical-landing stealth fighters to the forward-based training cycle. The deployment gives the recently converted Marine squadron valuable experience with U.S. and Japanese forces across the Indo-Pacific while preserving a rotational presence rather than permanently relocating the unit.