The 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron () is a squadron of the

7th Air Wing The 7th Air Wing () is a Wing (military aviation unit), wing of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. It comes under the authority of the Central Air Defense Force (Japan), Central Air Defense Force. It is based at Ibaraki Airport, Hyakuri Air Base in ...

of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warf ...

(JASDF) based at Hyakuri Air Base, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is equipped with Mitsubishi F-2 and

Kawasaki T-4 The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic ...

aircraft. It is currently the longest-serving JASDF squadron, as the 1st and 2nd Squadrons have been disbanded.Thompson, Pau
JASDF – Squadron Histories
''J-HangarSpace'' Retrieved September 14, 2017

History

On October 1, 1956 the squadron was formed at

Hamamatsu Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located north of the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan. History Hamamatsu Air Base was established in 1925 as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force base to be home to the newly f ...

in Shizuoka Prefecture as part of the 2nd Air Wing, equipped with the F-86F Sabre. On September 2, 1957 it relocated to

Chitose Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in Chitose, Hokkaidō, adjacent to New Chitose Airport. It is the JASDF's primary base in northern Japan and tasked with monitoring Japan's maritime borders with Russia. It was also Hokkaidō ...

in Hokkaido Prefecture. On March 5, 1963 it moved to Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture and was transferred to the 4th Air Wing. On February 1, 1964, as part of the 81st Air Group, the squadron moved again to Hachinohe Air Base in Aomori Prefecture. On December 12, 1971 it relocated to

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

, also in Aomori Prefecture. On March 31, 1978 it updated from the F-86F to the Mitsubishi F-1 and was transferred to the 3rd Air Wing. From late March 2001 the squadron started replacing its F-1 aircraft with Mitsubishi F-2s. It was the first operational F-2 squadron. On March 19, 2004 it started flying the F-2. In October 2016 the squadron conducted Exercise "Guardian North 2016" at Misawa. This was a joint exercise with four

Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service with seven nations: United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Austria. It has been ordered by Kuwait and Qatar, with orders for all eight customers still pending as of September 2017. Th ...

aircraft of 2 Squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. It was the first time British and Japanese fighter aircraft had trained together, the first time fighters from the two countries had met since World War II, and the first time the JASDF had trained in Japan with non-US military forces. On March 26, 2020 unit officially transitioned from Misawa Air Base to Hyakuri Air Base.

Tail marking

The squadron's current tail marking is a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

's helmeted head in profile. A colorful design was adopted in 1983 when the squadron still operated F-1 aircraft. Since the squadron began operating the F-2s in maritime camouflage the tail marking design has been made smaller and less colorful.

Aircraft operated

Fighter aircraft

F-1 (243) of 3 Sqn in flight during Cope North '85-1, -12 Nov

* North American F-86F Sabre（1956–1978） * Mitsubishi F-1 (1978–2002） * Mitsubishi F-2 (2001–present)

Liaison aircraft

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

A (1956–1992) * Mitsubishi T-2 (1978–2002) *

(1990–present)

References