About Misawa

The 35th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Misawa Air Base -- the northernmost U.S. installation in Japan and the only bilateral, joint-service, civilian-use air base in the Pacific. Misawa Air Base is located on the shores of Lake Ogawara in Misawa City in the Aomori Prefecture.

The mission of the 35th Fighter Wing is to "provide worldwide deployable forces, protect U.S. interests in the Pacific and defend Japan with sustained forward presence and focused mission support."

The wing operates and maintains two squadrons of F-16CM (C and D models) Block 50 Fighting Falcons. The pilots of the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons conduct daily flight training including air-to-air tactics over water and air-to-ground weapons delivery at Draughon Range. The 35th Fighter Wing is the Air Force's premier Wild Weasel organization and specializes in the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses including surface-to-air-missile systems.

In addition to daily air combat training, the 35th Fighter Wing holds quarterly operational readiness exercises, which keep Misawa Airmen ready to execute their mission at home or abroad. The wing maintains readiness with participation in Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) sponsored exercise like RED FLAG-Alaska and DISTANT FRONTIER and participates in joint and bilateral exercises such as COPE NORTH and KEEN SWORD to maintain combat readiness of U.S. and allied forces.

Since the 1990s, the 35th Fighter Wing has supported U.S. Operations in Southwest Asia with the regular deployments of Airmen and the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons to combat theaters.

The 35th Fighter Wing consists of four groups: the 35th Maintenance Group, the 35th Medical Group, the 35th Mission Support Group, and the 35th Operations Group. As the base operating unit, the 35th Fighter Wing hosts U.S. Navy and U.S. Army units, including Naval Air Facility Misawa and Joint Tactical Ground Station Misawa. In addition, the wing hosts elements of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, including the Northern Air Defense Headquarters and the 3rd Air Wing.