Naha Air Base


Naha Air Base, formally known as the Kōkū Jieitai Naha Kichi, is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force formerly under control of the United States Air Force. It is located at Naha Airport on the Oroku Peninsula in Naha, Okinawa, Japan.

History

Imperial Period

Naha Airfield was constructed in 1933 as Oroku Naval Air Base, an air base of the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1936 control of the air base was transferred to the Japanese Ministry of Communications and formally renamed Naha Airfield. In 1942 control of the air base again reverted to the IJN, which reverted the name of the installation to Oroku Naval Air Base. The facility was captured by the United States during World War II in the Battle of Okinawa on 1 April 1945.

US period

After World War II the installation became a major United States Air Force base under the operational control of Pacific Air Forces, and was known as Naha Air Base. The installation became a joint military-civilian air field in 1954 with the resumption of civilian air service between Tokyo and Okinawa. The USAF ended its use of Naha AB on 31 May 1971 and control of civil aviation was transferred to the Japanese Ministry of Transportation, which established Naha Airport on the site; control of the military air field was officially transferred to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 1979.

Post-US period

Japanese F-15s have been stationed there, with a second squadron of F-15s added in 2014.

Former USAF units

Major USAF units assigned to Naha AB were:
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The Okinawa Prefectural Police, and the Japan Coast Guard also utilize facilities at Naha Airport.
As of 2013, funding in the region of ¥0.3 billion has been requested for preparing the base to host JASDF E-2C aircraft, including ¥70million for new repair and maintenance facilities.