is a military aerodrome of the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

. It is located southwest of the city of

Kanoya is a city in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the southeastern Kyushu region in the central part of Ōsumi Peninsula. Kanoya is the most populous city in Japan without any connection to railway services, after the abolition of the ...

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Runway 08R/26L is equipped with ILS. On April 6, 2016 a U-125 airplane operated by the

Flight Check Squadron is a unit of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force based at Iruma Air Base in Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo. Under the authority of Air Support Command, it operates YS-11FC and U-125 aircraft. Prior to the U-125 the unit operated Mitsubishi MU- ...

of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed near the base, and all six crew members were killed. It had been checking the base's air navigation aid system. After some years of discussion it was announced in July 2018 that the base would be used by the US military.

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

KC-130 aerial tankers will use the base. The

Kanoya Air Base Museum is an aerospace museum of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in the city of Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The museum is located adjacent to Kanoya Air Field. History The museum opened in December 1973 (Showa 48) and reopened in July 1993 as ...

is located at the base.

References

Airports in Japan Airports in Kagoshima Prefecture Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force bases {{Kagoshima-geo-stub