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 (IJ ...

. 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 th ...

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 n ...

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

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 c ...

KC-130 The Lockheed Martin (previously Lockheed) KC-130 is a family of the extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with 48 delivered ...

aerial tankers will use the base. The Kanoya Air Base Museum is located at the base.

References

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