The recent F-22 deployment to Yokota AB, Japan, was part of a “previously scheduled training deployment,” not a reaction to recent activity by the North Korean regime, the Pentagon said Thursday. Eight F-22s deployed to Yokota on Jan. 20 for a drill lasting until Jan. 22, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the Raptors, which are deployed from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, are at Yokota to “enhance our ability to fulfill our treaty obligations to defend Japan and promote stability throughout the region.” F-16s also are reportedly joining the Raptors on the deployment.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.