Kadena Sends ‘Message You Can’t Ignore’ with Huge Elephant Walk

The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week.

In a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, drawn from multiple fighter squadrons rotating through the region; eight F-15E Strike Eagles; and two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway.

The Patriot system, owned by the U.S. or foreign partners, is deployed to hotspots around the world with significant missile threats, including Ukraine and the Middle East. Their inclusion appeared intended to send the message that the U.S. was not only prepared to operate from the base but to defend it against Chinese missile attacks.

On Okinawa, Kadena is located in the so-called First Island Chain off the coast of mainland China, which includes Japan; Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its own; and the Philippines, a U.S. ally that has territorial disputes with Beijing.

In a release, Kadena’s 18th Wing said the “Elephant Walk” of aircraft and missile defense systems was a showcase of “combat readiness and regional deterrence” as part of the exercise Beverly High.

Other platforms also represented in the display: 

• An Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence gathering aircraft;
• A Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare aircraft;
• Two Navy EA-18 Growler electronic warfare attack planes;
• Two MQ-9 Reaper drones;
• Two MC-130J Commando II special operations cargo planes;
• An E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control aircraft;
• Six KC-135 Stratotanker refuelers; 
• Six HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters

The 18th Wing’s release called the display a “testament to the lethality Kadena AB can leverage to deter adversarial aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.” Chief Master Sgt. Brandon Wolfgang, the 18th Wing command chief master sergeant, said it “sends a message you can’t ignore.”

Obvious but unstated was who that message was for—China and North Korea.

Eventually, Kadena plans to receive F-15EX Eagle II advanced fourth-generation aircraft that will be permanently stationed at the base.

The aircraft from Kadena didn’t stay still. To practice the Air Force concept of Agile Combat Employment, under which aircraft will disperse to elude attack, Airmen and F-35s assigned to Eielson’s 355th Fighter Squadron and 355th Fighter Generation Squadron are staging out of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is also on Okinawa, from May 6-9.

At Kadena, Airmen from the 33rd Rescue Squadron and the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron conducted simulated airfield damage assessments May 8, and the CE squadron worked with U.S. Navy specialists to clear simulated unexploded ordnance from the runway.

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma hosts its own F-35Bs, the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant flown by the service. The USMC also operates the carrier-based F-35C.