| | Thursday June 20, 2013 |
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| U.S. delays F-22 Raptor fighters arrival in Japan |
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The arrival of 12 U.S. F-22 fighter planes at a U.S. air base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa was delayed on Sunday without word on a new date for their first deployment outside the United States. 11-02-2007 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- The U.S. Air Force's newest fighter planes had been scheduled to arrive at the weekend at the U.S. Kadena Air Base.
But a statement from the Air Force in Okinawa said the aircraft had turned back to Hawaii for operational reasons, without elaborating. They were still scheduled to be deployed.
The three-month deployment of the stealth fighters comes as diplomats struggle to reach agreement at talks in Beijing aimed at ending
North Korea's nuclear arms program, although military officials have said there was no direct link to the negotiations.
"What the F-22 deployment does is ... make the (U.S.-Japan) alliance stronger, and that is a factor for dealing with the complexities of North Korea," U.S. Forces Japan Commander Lieutenant-General Bruce Wright told journalists in Tokyo last week.
The Raptor is a "very formidable asset, with very formidable capability compared to any other fighter," Wright said.
The planes are able to gather data from multiple sources to track, identify and kill air-to-air threats before being detected by radar, and have significant surface-strike capability, according to the U.S. Air Force Web site.
Japan is looking to replace its F-15 fighters and Wrignt said the F-22 was one option.
 On Saturday, over 200 people gathered for a peaceful protest outside the air base, with signs reading "Raptor, Go Home."
Residents of Okinawa often complain of crime, noise, pollution and accidents associated with U.S. bases stationed in the southern prefecture.
About 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under a mutual security pact. Most of them are based on this small, crowded island, and tensions over potential accidents, land use and troop-related crimes are endemic.
Tokyo and Washington agreed on the deployment, which is to last three months, as a means of boosting the U.S. military’s readiness and deterrent abilities, and because they say it provides a valuable training experience for the fighter pilots and their support teams.
UPDATE: The jets were delayed until Sunday because of weather, according to Kadena spokesman Master Sgt. Jeffrey Loftin.
Nine of the 12 Kadena-bound fighter jets took off from Hawaii Sunday, but “U.S. Military officials elected to return the unit back to Hickam AFB for operational reasons,” according to an Air Force news statement.
Officials said the aircraft and the 250 squadron personnel will still deploy to Kadena, but they didn’t release any details of when that would be or why the jets were delayed Sunday.
Source: Yahoo news
Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo
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