The U. S. has deployed over a dozen F-22 fighter jets to Okinawa for the first time in more than three years.
The United States Air Force (USAF) has dispatched 14 Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fifth-generation stealth air superiority fighter jets from Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa for a four-week rotational deployment ahead of the upcoming summit between U. S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore.
The deployment is seen as a way to exert pressure on Pyongyang over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs as the North Korean leadership considers fifth-generations stealth fighter jets as “strategic assets” capable of launching strikes against targets inside North Korea in the event of a conflict. The F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, stealth air-superiority fighter with ground-attack capabilities.
According to Pacific Air Forces, the first aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base on May 29 under the U. S. Indo-Pacific Command’s theater security package program (TSP). “TSP deployments to the Indo-Pacific region signify a continued commitment to regional stability and security and have served as a routine and integral part of U. S. Indo-Pacific Command’s force posture since March 2004,” the statement reads.
