Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation — the Fleet Air Force (Kōkū Shūdan) and its seven air wings — grew from a single air unit set up at the old Imperial Navy base of Kanoya in 1953–54 into one of the world’s largest anti-submarine air arms, with about 70 P-1 and P-3C patrol aircraft and some 80 SH-60 helicopters in 2023; it has dropped bombs in anger only once, as warning shots in 1999, and in 2026 it is replacing the P-3C with the troubled Kawasaki P-1 and buying MQ-9B drones.
The JMSDF aviation story: Trackers at Kanoya, warning bombs off Noto and the troubled P-1
1912–1945: the Imperial Navy’s air arm, and how it ended
Japanese naval aviation is older than the Self-Defense Forces by four decades. The Imperial Navy set up a commission on aeronautical research in 1912, flew its first seaplanes at Oppama on Yokosuka Bay that year, and in September 1914 the seaplane carrier Wakamiya’s aircraft attacked German positions at Tsingtao, which Wikipedia calls the first naval-launched air raids in history. By 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was a carrier and land-based bomber force of the first rank; by 1945 it was sending young men from airfields such as Kanoya on suicide missions. Japanese Wikipedia counts 828 special-attack airmen who sortied from Kanoya alone in the Okinawa campaign. The service was dissolved with Japan’s defeat. Its story belongs in this page as background, not as lineage to be celebrated: the post-war maritime arm is a new organisation, though it took over many of the same airfields. The wars themselves are covered on the JASDF page.
1953–1961: starting again at Kanoya and Tateyama
The maritime air arm restarted under American tutelage and on a small scale. Japanese Wikipedia dates the first air unit at Kanoya to 1 December 1953, under the Maritime Safety Agency’s Safety Security Force, the body that became the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on 1 July 1954. The sources disagree on exactly when Kanoya passed to the navy: English Wikipedia gives 21 November 1955 for the full transfer. Tateyama, an Imperial Navy field on Tokyo Bay, was returned to Japan in 1953 and became the helicopter base. The first equipment came from the United States: Avenger hunter-killer groups in the 1950s and 1960s, and 60 S2F-1 Trackers delivered in 1957 from US stocks. The mission was set from the start and has never changed much: find submarines in the seas around Japan, and rescue people at sea.
1961–1989: Fleet Air Force, Neptunes, Trackers and flying boats
On 1 September 1961 the air units were gathered into the Fleet Air Force (Kōkū Shūdan) at Shimofusa, east of Tokyo; its headquarters moved to Atsugi in 1973. The 4th Air Wing formed in 1962 with nine P2V-7 Neptunes, and in October 1965 six of them flew to the Marianas to search for Japanese fishing boats caught by a typhoon, the first overseas mission by the fixed-wing force. Japanese industry soon took over: Kawasaki rebuilt the Neptune with turboprops as the P-2J (83 built, first flight July 1966), Mitsubishi built HSS-2 Sea King helicopters under licence, and ShinMaywa produced a home-designed flying boat, the PS-1 anti-submarine aircraft (21 built, in service from 1971) and the US-1 rescue amphibian (19 built, from 1975). The PS-1 had a short career and was retired in 1989; the US-1 became the service’s best-loved aircraft, credited by Wikipedia with 827 people rescued.
1983–2009: the Orion years and one night off Noto
The P-3C Orion set the shape of the force for the next forty years. The first P-3C squadron, the 6th at Shimofusa and later Atsugi, formed on 30 March 1983 with six aircraft, and Kawasaki went on to build more than 100 under licence, with electronic (EP-3), imagery (OP-3C) and test (UP-3C, UP-3D) variants. In 1991 the Mitsubishi-built SH-60J replaced the Sea King on destroyers; the SH-60K followed in 2005. A 1998 reorganisation cut the fixed-wing patrol squadrons from eight to four. The fleet had trained for the Soviet submarine threat, but its one real use of weapons came against North Korea. On the night of 23–24 March 1999, during Japan’s first maritime security operation, three P-3Cs from Hachinohe dropped 12 anti-submarine bombs as warning shots ahead of two spy ships off the Noto Peninsula. The ships escaped; nobody was hurt.
2009–2019: Djibouti, the P-1 and a radar dispute with Seoul
In 2009 the patrol force went abroad for a sustained operation for the first time. Two P-3Cs left for Djibouti on 28 May and began anti-piracy flights over the Gulf of Aden on 11 June, first from the US-run Camp Lemonnier and from 2011 from Japan’s own base beside the airport, its first long-term overseas base since 1945. At home the ShinMaywa US-2 replaced the US-1 from 2007, though only nine were built and one was written off in 2015. The Kawasaki P-1, a four-jet patrol aircraft designed in Japan, entered service on 26 March 2013; Atsugi’s 3rd Squadron became all-P-1 in August 2017. A year later the new aircraft was at the centre of a diplomatic row: Japan said a South Korean destroyer locked its fire-control radar on to a P-1 on 20 December 2018; Seoul denied it and accused the P-1 of flying dangerously low.
2019–2026: P-1 troubles, a fatal collision, drones and a carrier
The P-1 has not delivered the availability that was promised. Wikipedia reports that a July 2025 audit downgraded the fleet’s readiness to “poor” because of engine problems, avionics faults and a lack of spare parts, and the annual buy has fallen to two aircraft in FY2025 and one in FY2026. On 20 April 2024 two SH-60K helicopters collided during night anti-submarine training near Torishima, killing all eight crew; the rescue UH-60J was retired from the navy that July. The money is now moving towards unmanned aircraft, as the December 2022 Defense Buildup Program foreshadowed when it said P-1 numbers would be partially reviewed: the FY2026 budget buys four MQ-9B long-endurance drones for ¥76.5 billion, against three SH-60L helicopters and one P-1. Meanwhile the destroyer Kaga completed F-35B trials off California in November 2024. The jets will belong to the Air Self-Defense Force, not the navy; the navy’s own air arm remains a submarine-hunting and rescue force.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation in numbers
Hizmet
- Yerli isim
- 海上自衛隊 (Kaijō Jieitai); the air arm is the 航空集団 (Kōkū Shūdan, Fleet Air Force)The Japanese names as given in Wikipedia; the official English site calls the service the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
- Kurulan
- 1 July 1954 (Fleet Air Force: 1 September 1961)The service grew from the Safety Security Force of 1952. Japanese Wikipedia dates the first air unit, at Kanoya, to 1 December 1953; the Fleet Air Force was formed at Shimofusa on 1 September 1961
- Bir parçası
- Self-Defense Fleet, Japan Maritime Self-Defense ForceThe Fleet Air Force is one of the fleet’s major commands; operations are run jointly under the JSDF Joint Operations Command
- Merkez Ofis
- Atsugi, KanagawaThe Fleet Air Force headquarters moved from Shimofusa to Atsugi in 1973; Atsugi is shared with the US Navy
- Chief of Staff, JMSDF
- Adm. Akira Saitō36th Chief of Staff since 19 July 2024; a surface officer
- Predecessor
- Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (1912–1945)Background, not a formal lineage: the post-war force is a new organisation, but it inherited Kanoya, Tateyama, Ōmura, Atsugi and Iwakuni
Kuvvet
- Aircraft (all types)
- 201 fixed-wing aircraft and 145 helicoptersEnglish Wikipedia’s figure; it does not date it. The official holdings table in the 2025 white paper is published only as an image and could not be read for this dataset
- Patrol aircraft
-
- Kawasaki P-1 — 34
- Kawasaki (Lockheed) P-3C Orion — 35
End of March 2023, per Japanese Wikipedia. The P-1 replaces the P-3C; 44 P-1s were funded through FY2026
- Special mission
-
- EP-3 (signals intelligence) — 5
- OP-3C (imagery) — 5
- UP-3C / UP-3D (test, training) — 1 / 3 built
EP-3 and OP-3C at end of March 2023; UP-3 figures are Wikipedia’s production totals
- Helikopterler
-
- Mitsubishi SH-60K — 73
- Mitsubishi SH-60J — 10
- AgustaWestland (Kawasaki) MCH-101 — 10
End of March 2023. The SH-60L is being bought (two in FY2025, three in FY2026)
- Rescue and transport
-
- ShinMaywa US-2 — 9 built
- C-130R Hercules — 6
- LC-90 King Air — 5 delivered
Production and delivery totals, not a dated count; the first US-2 was retired in August 2024 according to Wikipedia
- Personnel (whole JMSDF)
- 43,106 of 45,293 authorisedJapanese Wikipedia’s figure for the whole service; no separate figure for the air arm was found
Altyapı
- Hava kanatları
-
- 1st — Kanoya (P-1)
- 2nd — Hachinohe (P-3C)
- 4th — Atsugi (P-1)
- 5th — Naha (P-3C)
- 21st — Tateyama (SH-60)
- 22nd — Ōmura (SH-60)
- 31st — Iwakuni (US-2, EP-3, OP-3C)
Aircraft per Japanese Wikipedia’s Fleet Air Force article and the base articles
- Training bases
-
- Shimofusa
- Tokushima (TC-90)
- Ozuki (T-5)
- Kanoya (TH-135)
Air Training Command moved to Shimofusa in 1973
- Shared with US forces
-
- Atsugi (US Navy)
- Iwakuni (US Marine Corps)
The JMSDF flies from both alongside American units
- Remote island airfields
-
- Iwo Tō (Iwo Jima)
- Minamitorishima
Detachments set up on 26 June 1968, after the islands’ return
- Overseas base
- Djibouti, since 2011Anti-piracy patrol aircraft have flown from Djibouti since June 2009
- F-35B-capable ships
- Kaga (first stage done 2024); IzumoThe F-35Bs aboard will be JASDF aircraft
How the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation is organised
The Fleet Air Force, one of the major commands of the Self-Defense Fleet, runs seven air wings from Atsugi: four patrol wings, two ship-based helicopter wings and a special-mission wing at Iwakuni, with Air Training Command at Shimofusa. About 70 Kawasaki P-1 and P-3C patrol aircraft and some 80 SH-60J and SH-60K helicopters make it one of the world’s largest anti-submarine air arms. The F-35Bs that are to fly from the ships Kaga and Izumo, now being converted, will belong to the Air Self-Defense Force, not the navy.
Fleet Air Force
The air arm of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and one of the major commands of the Self-Defense Fleet, formed at Shimofusa on 1 September 1961 and headquartered at Atsugi since 1973. The name of its present commander could not be confirmed from an official page; the head of the JMSDF is Adm. Akira Saitō, Chief of Staff since 19 July 2024.
Fleet Air Wings 1, 2, 4 and 5
The fixed-wing anti-submarine force. Fleet Air Wing 1 at Kanoya and Fleet Air Wing 4 at Atsugi fly the Kawasaki P-1, 34 in service at the end of March 2023; Fleet Air Wing 2 at Hachinohe and Fleet Air Wing 5 at Naha fly the P-3C Orion, 35 at the same date. Atsugi’s 3rd Squadron became the first all-P-1 squadron on 29 August 2017.
Fleet Air Wings 21 and 22
SH-60J and SH-60K anti-submarine helicopters for the destroyer fleet, 10 and 73 at the end of March 2023: Fleet Air Wing 21 has been headquartered at Tateyama since 1961, and Fleet Air Wing 22 was formed at Ōmura in 1987. Two SH-60Ks collided near Torishima on 20 April 2024, killing all eight crew; five SH-60Ls were funded in FY2025 and FY2026.
Fleet Air Wing 31
Formed at Iwakuni in 1973. Its 71st Squadron is the only unit flying the ShinMaywa US-2 rescue flying boat, of which nine were built; the wing also flies the EP-3 signals-intelligence and OP-3C imagery Orions, five of each at the end of March 2023.
Fleet Air Squadron 61
Directly under the Fleet Air Force, with six C-130R Hercules, former US Marine Corps KC-130Rs regenerated from storage in 2012–13 with the refuelling gear removed, and LC-90 King Air light transports.
Fleet Air Squadron 51
The squadron that received the first Kawasaki P-1s in 2013. Wikipedia places it directly under the Fleet Air Force; its station at Atsugi follows the JMSDF article and is not confirmed by an official page.
Air Training Command
At Shimofusa since 1973, where the Shimofusa Air Training Group trains patrol aircraft crews. The 201st Air Training Squadron flies the Fuji T-5 primary trainer at Ozuki, the 202nd the TC-90 King Air at Tokushima, and the 211th Training Squadron the TH-135 helicopter at Kanoya.
Deployment Air Force for Counter Piracy Enforcement
Rotating patrol detachments that began anti-piracy flights over the Gulf of Aden on 11 June 2009 with two P-3Cs, at first from the US Navy’s Camp Lemonnier and since March 2011 from Japan’s own base beside Djibouti–Ambouli airport, its first long-term overseas base since 1945.
What the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation flies today
Ücretli olan her tür, varsa ilgili Canavarlar Kitabı sayfasına bağlanmıştır. Sayılar, belirli bir günde müsait olan uçak sayısını değil, kayıtlarda yer alan uçak sayısını ifade eder.
| Türü | Rol | Hizmette | O zamandan beri | Birimler | Notlar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawasaki P-1Hizmette | Maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft | 34 | 2013 | 34 at the end of March 2023 (Japanese Wikipedia); 33 delivered by March 2022 (English Wikipedia). 44 funded through FY2026, including two in FY2025 and one in FY2026. | ||
| Kawasaki (Lockheed) P-3C OrionHizmette | Maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft | 35 | 1983 | 35 at the end of March 2023 (Japanese Wikipedia); 40 in March 2022 (English Wikipedia). Kawasaki built more than 100 P-3s under licence; Wikipedia’s production table gives 107 for Japan. | ||
| Kawasaki EP-3 OrionHizmette | Sinyal istihbaratı | 5 | Five at the end of March 2023; Wikipedia lists five built. | |||
| Kawasaki OP-3C OrionHizmette | Imagery reconnaissance | 5 | Five at the end of March 2023. | |||
| Kawasaki UP-3C and UP-3D OrionHizmette | Test bed and electronic warfare training | One UP-3C and three UP-3D in Wikipedia’s production list; the current count was not confirmed. | ||||
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) SH-60KHizmette | Ship-based anti-submarine helicopter | 73 | 2005 | 73 at the end of March 2023 (Japanese Wikipedia); 75 in March 2022 (English Wikipedia). Two were lost in the collision of 20 April 2024. | ||
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) SH-60JHizmette | Ship-based anti-submarine helicopter | 10 | 1991 | 10 at the end of March 2023 (Japanese Wikipedia); 12 in March 2022. Over 100 built by 2007. | ||
| AgustaWestland (Kawasaki) MCH-101 and CH-101Hizmette | Airborne mine countermeasures, transport and Antarctic support | 10 | 2006 | 10 MCH-101 at the end of March 2023; 14 of both versions ordered in 2003. | ||
| ShinMaywa US-2Hizmette | Amphibious search and rescue | 2007 | Nine built. One (9905) written off in April 2015, and Wikipedia says the first US-2 was retired in August 2024; a further aircraft was funded in FY2025 (¥21.8 billion).
Daha |
|||
| Lockheed C-130R HerculesHizmette | Ulaşım | 6 | 2014 | Six former US Marine Corps KC-130Rs. | ||
| Beechcraft LC-90 King AirHizmette | Liaison transport | 5 | Five delivered, per Wikipedia; current count not confirmed. | |||
| Beechcraft TC-90 King AirHizmette | Çok motorlu pilot eğitim uçağı | 1973 | 34 delivered from 1973; two were given to the Philippine Navy in March 2017 and three more were planned, so the current count is lower and was not confirmed. | |||
| Fuji T-5Hizmette | Baş eğitmen | 1988 | 40 built; current count not confirmed. | |||
| Airbus Helicopters TH-135 (EC135)Hizmette | Helikopter eğitim uçağı |
Sipariş üzerine
| Türü | Sipariş edildi | İlk teslimat | Notlar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawasaki P-1Sipariş üzerine | 3 | 2013 | Two in the FY2025 budget (¥84.8 billion) and one in FY2026 (¥46.0 billion); 44 funded in all through FY2026 according to Wikipedia’s procurement table.
DahaThe December 2022 Defense Buildup Program said P-1 numbers would be partially reviewed as long-endurance drones are bought. Delivery dates for these lots were not published. |
|
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) SH-60LSipariş üzerine | 5 | Two in FY2025 (¥29.3 billion) and three in FY2026 (¥43.0 billion).
DahaThe XSH-60L flew on 11 May 2021; Wikipedia says deliveries started in 2022, which could not be confirmed for production aircraft. |
||
| General Atomics MQ-9B SeaGuardianSipariş üzerine | 4 | Four long-endurance UAVs in the FY2026 budget (¥76.5 billion), after ¥41.5 billion for long-endurance UAVs in FY2025 whose number was not stated.
Daha |
||
| ShinMaywa US-2Sipariş üzerine | 1 | 2007 | One funded in FY2025 (¥21.8 billion). |
Every type the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation has retired
14 types, from the Grumman S2F-1 Tracker to the Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) UH-60J. Zirve rakamları, herhangi bir tarihteki filo gücünü değil, tüm hizmet ömrü boyunca teslim alınan uçak gövdelerini ifade eder.
| Türü | Rol | Doruğa ulaşmak | Servis edildi | Yerine şu geçti: | Notlar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) UH-60J | Arama kurtarma helikopteri | 1991–2024 | About 40 built for the JSDF by 2010 (all services); the navy’s share was not confirmed. | |||
| ShinMaywa US-1 and US-1A | Amphibious search and rescue | 19 | 1975–2017 | US-2 | 19 built. | |
| Kawasaki P-2J | Maritime patrol aircraft | 83 | 1969–1996 | P-3C | 83: one converted P2V-7 and 82 new-build. | |
| ShinMaywa PS-1 | Anti-submarine flying boat | 21 | 1971–1989 | P-3C | 21 built. | |
| Grumman S2F-1 Tracker | Anti-submarine aircraft | 60 | 1957–1984 | P-3C | 60 delivered from US stocks in 1957; six converted to other versions. | |
| Lockheed P2V-7 (P-2H) Neptune | Maritime patrol aircraft | P-2J | ||||
| Grumman TBM Avenger | Anti-submarine aircraft | S2F-1 | ||||
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) HSS-2, HSS-2A and HSS-2B Sea King | Ship-based anti-submarine helicopter | 106 | SH-60J | 55 HSS-2, 28 HSS-2A and 23 HSS-2B built by Mitsubishi. | ||
| Mitsubishi (Sikorsky) S-61A | Transport and Antarctic support helicopter | CH-101 | Mitsubishi built 18 S-61As; the navy’s share was not confirmed. | |||
| Kawasaki (Boeing Vertol) KV-107II-3 and IIA-3 | Mine countermeasures helicopter | 9 | MH-53E | Two KV-107II-3 and seven KV-107IIA-3. | ||
| Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon | Mine countermeasures helicopter | MCH-101 | ||||
| Fuji KM-2 | Baş eğitmen | T-5 | ||||
| Beechcraft UC-90 King Air | Aerial survey | 1 | Bir. | |||
| NAMC YS-11 (YS-11M/T) | Transport and crew trainer |
Where Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation flies from
Siyah işaretler aktif üsleri, içi boş işaretler ise kapanmış havaalanlarını temsil eder. Most of the navy’s air bases were Imperial Navy or Army fields before 1945, among them Kanoya, Tateyama, Ōmura, Atsugi and Iwakuni, and two of them, Atsugi and Iwakuni, are shared with American forces. Beyond the home islands the JMSDF runs the airfield on Iwo Tō and, since 2011, a counter-piracy base in Djibouti. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
Japonya
2 of the 10 bases above sit outside Japan, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas bases.
| Temel | ICAO | Durum | Pist | Birimler ve uçaklar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ŌmuraNagasaki Prefecture | RJDU | Aktif |
|
|
| AtsugiNaval Air Facility AtsugiKanagawa Prefecture | RJTA | Aktif | 01/192.438 mbeton |
|
| HachinoheAomori Prefecture | RJSH | Aktif |
|
|
| IwakuniMarine Corps Air Station IwakuniYamaguchi Prefecture | RJOI | Aktif | 02/202.440 mbeton |
|
| Iwo TōIwo JimaTokyo Metropolis (Ogasawara Islands) | RJAW | Aktif |
|
|
| KanoyaKagoshima Prefecture | RJFY | Aktif | 08R/26L2,250 mbeton08L/26R1.200 mbeton |
|
| NahaOkinawa Prefecture | ROAH | Aktif | 18L/36R3.000 m18R/36L2.700 m |
|
| ShimofusaChiba Prefecture | RJTL | Aktif | 01/192,250 mbeton |
|
| TateyamaChiba Prefecture | RJTE | Aktif |
|
Arama sonucunda bu kriterlere uyan bir hava üssü bulunamadı.
Who is stationed where in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation
Üslerine göre uçan birlikler, önce mevcut birlikler. JMSDF flying units are numbered Fleet Air Squadrons (航空隊) grouped in Fleet Air Wings (航空群): 1, 2, 4 and 5 for patrol aircraft, 21 and 22 for helicopters and 31 for special missions and rescue. The US Navy helicopter squadrons at Atsugi are marked as not Japanese, and the Imperial Navy’s Kanoya Naval Air Group is listed among the former units. Where a unit’s station or date rests on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- Fleet Air Force headquarters (航空集団司令部)Command headquarters · active
- Fleet Air Squadron 3 (第3航空隊), Fleet Air Wing 4Deniz devriye filosu · aktif
- Kawasaki P-1 (since 23 March 2015), P-3C Orion (1984–2017)
- Fleet Air Squadron 61 (第61航空隊)Hava taşımacılığı filosu · aktif
- C-130R Hercules, LC-90 King Air
- Fleet Air Squadron 51 (第51航空隊)Test and development squadron · active
- Kawasaki P-1 and others
- Carrier Air Wing 5 helicopter squadrons (US Navy)Carrier helicopter squadrons · foreign
- MH-60R/S Seahawk
- Fleet Air Squadron 6 (第6航空隊), Fleet Air Wing 41983–
- P-3C Orion
- Fleet Air Squadron 1 (第1航空隊), Fleet Air Wing 1Deniz devriye filosu · aktif
- Kawasaki P-1 (since July 2019), P-3C Orion (1989–2019)
- 211th Training Squadron (第211教育航空隊)Helikopter eğitim filosu · aktif
- Airbus Helicopters TH-135
- Fleet Air Squadron 7 (第7航空隊)1987–
- P-2J, P-3C Orion
- Fleet Air Squadron 11 (第11航空隊)1973–1984
- S2F-1 Tracker
- Kanoya Naval Air Group (鹿屋海軍航空隊), Imperial Japanese Navy1936–1945
- Mitsubishi G3M, Mitsubishi G4M
- Fleet Air Squadron 2 (第2航空隊), Fleet Air Wing 2Deniz devriye filosu · aktif
- P-3C Orion (since 1985)
- Fleet Air Wing 5 (第5航空群)Maritime patrol wing · active
- P-3C Orion
- Fleet Air Wing 21 (第21航空群)Ship-based helicopter wing · active
- SH-60J/K, UH-60J (to 2024)
- Fleet Air Squadron 22 (第22航空隊)Ship-based helicopter squadron · active
- SH-60J/K
- Fleet Air Squadron 72 (第72航空隊)Search and rescue squadron · active
- UH-60J (to 2024)
- Fleet Air Squadron 71 (第71航空隊), Fleet Air Wing 31Amphibian search and rescue squadron · active
- ShinMaywa US-2
- Fleet Air Wing 31 (第31航空群)Special mission and support wing · active
- EP-3
- Shimofusa Air Training Group (下総教育航空群)Training group · active
- P-3C Orion, YS-11 (former)
- Iwo Tō Air Base DetachmentAirfield detachment · active
Bu aramaya uyan bir birim bulunamadı.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation milestones, 1914 to today
The Imperial Navy sets up a commission on aeronautical research; first naval flights at Oppama. On 5 September 1914 Wakamiya’s seaplanes raid German positions at Tsingtao.
Kanoya is the main kamikaze base in the Okinawa campaign; the Imperial Navy Air Service is dissolved after the surrender.
1 December: an air unit is formed at Kanoya under the Safety Security Force (Japanese Wikipedia). Tateyama is returned to Japan.
1 July: the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is created.
60 S2F-1 Trackers delivered from US stocks; JMSDF flying begins at Hachinohe and Ōmura.
1 September: the Fleet Air Force is formed at Shimofusa.
10 October: six P2V-7s fly to the Marianas to search for typhoon-hit fishing boats, the first overseas fixed-wing mission.
The Kawasaki P-2J enters service; the PS-1 flying boat follows in 1971 and the US-1 rescue amphibian in 1975.
Fleet Air Force headquarters moves to Atsugi; the 31st Air Wing forms at Iwakuni.
30 March: the 6th Squadron forms with six P-3Cs, the first P-3C unit.
August: SH-60J deliveries begin; the UH-60J rescue helicopter enters navy service in December.
24 March: in Japan’s first maritime security operation, three P-3Cs drop 12 warning bombs near two North Korean spy ships off Noto.
11 June: P-3Cs begin anti-piracy patrols from Djibouti; Japan’s own base opens there in March 2011.
26 March: the first two Kawasaki P-1s are delivered; in August 2017 Atsugi’s 3rd Squadron becomes all-P-1 and in December the US-1A retires.
20 December: Japan says a South Korean destroyer locked its fire-control radar on a P-1; Seoul denies it.
20 April: two SH-60Ks collide near Torishima, eight dead. 2 June: Japan and South Korea agree recurrence-prevention measures. 24 July: UH-60J retired. November: F-35B trials aboard Kaga completed.
FY2025 budget: two P-1, two SH-60L, one US-2 and long-endurance drones. July: an audit rates P-1 readiness poor, per Wikipedia.
FY2026 budget (2 March): one P-1, three SH-60L and four MQ-9B drones.
Every operation JMSDF aviation has flown
Kayıtlarda belirtilen yerlerde sorti ve kayıplar, belirtilmeyen yerlerde ise boş bırakılmıştır.
- The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service at war 1914–1945 Carrier and land-based bombing, fighter and anti-shipping operations; in 1945 suicide attacks from Kyushu bases such as Kanoya
- The Noto spy-ship incident 1999 Shadowed two suspected North Korean spy ships and dropped warning bombs to stop them
- Counter-piracy off Somalia 2009– Maritime patrol flights to find pirate skiffs and warn shipping, alongside the multinational counter-piracy forces
- Maritime surveillance around Japan 1950s– Daily patrol flights to track foreign warships and submarines near Japan
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation display team
Each team has its own page: history, aircraft, the display, the accidents and the sources.
Everything people ask about the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation
What is the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force called in Japanese?
What aircraft does the JMSDF fly in 2026?
Is the Kawasaki P-1 replacing the P-3C?
Does the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force fly the F-35B?
Has JMSDF aviation ever used weapons in anger?
What happened in the 2018 radar lock-on dispute with South Korea?
Why does Japan have patrol aircraft in Djibouti?
What is the ShinMaywa US-2?
What was the April 2024 JMSDF helicopter crash?
Is the JMSDF the successor of the Imperial Japanese Navy air service?
Read the aircraft the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation flew
Hayvanlar Kitabı'nda sayfası bulunan her tür, önce hizmete girdiği yıl, sonra da filodan ayrıldığı yıl sıralanmıştır.
Her bilgi kontrol edildi.
- JMSDF official English site: news and eventsOfficial English name; visits by Admiral Saito, Chief of Staff, JMSDF, in 2026 (Republic of Korea 14 April, Australia 17 April, Singapore 29 May 2026).
- Ministry of Defense: Overview of FY2025 Budget (11 April 2025)Two P-1 (¥84.8 billion), two SH-60L (¥29.3 billion), one US-2 (¥21.8 billion), long-endurance UAVs (¥41.5 billion).
- Ministry of Defense: Overview of FY2026 Budget (2 March 2026)One P-1 (¥46.0 billion), three SH-60L (¥43.0 billion), four MQ-9B long-endurance UAVs (¥76.5 billion); SHIELD unmanned programme ¥100.1 billion.
- Ministry of Defense: Defense Programs and Budget of Japan (index)Index of the FY2025 and FY2026 budget overviews used here.
- Ministry of Defense: Defense Buildup Program (December 2022), English translationPage 47: the number of P-1 fixed-wing patrol aircraft to be acquired will be partially reviewed in conjunction with the acquisition of a long-endurance UAV; the number of upgraded SH-60K patrol helicopters partially revised after a review of shipboard requirements.
- Ministry of Defense: Defense of Japan 2026 (digest)2025 incidents: a Chinese fighter’s unusual close approach to a JSDF aircraft in June, a Chinese fighter-bomber’s in July, intermittent radar illumination of a JSDF aircraft for about 30 minutes in December; 595 JASDF scrambles in FY2025.
- MiGFlug Order of Battle: Japan Air Self-Defense Force (internal dataset, verified 30 September 2026)Sister page; covers the Imperial Army and Navy air services in the Second World War, the F-35B and the JASDF scramble record. Used for consistency only.
- JASDF Naha Air Base: base introduction (那覇基地紹介)Cited from the sister JASDF dataset: runways 3,000 m and 2,700 m (second opened March 2020); civil-military airport managed by MLIT; 13 SDF units.
- MiGFlug Order of Battle: Djiboutian Air Force stations (internal dataset)Existing row jsdf-base-djibouti: HDAM, runway 09/27 3,150 m, opened 2011. Used for consistency.
Rakamlar 2026-10-01 tarihinde doğrulanmıştır. Savaş Düzeni sayfaları tek bir veri kümesinden yeniden oluşturulmuştur; buradaki bir sayı Canavarlar Kitabı sayfasındaki bir sayıyla uyuşmuyorsa, bu sayfa ikisinden daha yeni olanıdır.
Photographs: Photo: 海上自衛隊 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Hunini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Cp9asngf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Hunini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Willis / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Los688 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Amayagan / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: 先従隗始 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Aomorikuma（あおもりくま） / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)