Hachinohe Air Base

Hachinohe Air Base is a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) aerodrome located in Aomori Prefecture, 3.0 nautical miles northwest of Hachinohe. The facility was established in 1941 as a training field for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the United States Army occupied the site, operating it as Camp Haugen until 1950. Control was then transferred to the Coastal Safety Force, the predecessor of the JMSDF. The base was designated JGSDF Camp Hachinohe in 1956, and the JMSDF established its presence the following year. In 1961, the resident JMSDF Hachinohe Air Wing was renamed Fleet Air Wing 2. Commercial aviation operations were hosted at the base from 1963 until 1975 while Misawa Airport was closed to civilian traffic.

The base functions as the headquarters for Fleet Air Wing 2’s Air Patrol Squadron 2. This unit operates Kawasaki-Lockheed P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Its primary responsibilities include patrolling the seaward approaches to northern Japan and monitoring drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk during winter months. Personnel and aircraft from the base are frequently deployed to forward airfields in Hokkaido. Additionally, the base hosts the JMSDF Mobile Construction Group, a unit with functions equivalent to the United States Navy Seabees.

The aerodrome is located adjacent to JGSDF Camp Hachinohe and in proximity to Misawa Air Base, which houses Japan Air Self-Defense Force and United States Air Force units. Historically, the base hosted Lockheed P-2 Neptune and Kawasaki P-2J Neptune aircraft. Air Patrol Squadron 2 transitioned to the P-3C Orion in 1985. During a 2008 administrative reorganization, UH-60J helicopter operations were transferred from Hachinohe to JMSDF Ōminato Air Station.