Hamamatsu Air Base (浜松基地 (Hamamatsu-kichi))

Hamamatsu Air Base is located 5.6 kilometers north of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1925 as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) base, it initially hosted the No.7 Air Regiment and was designated as the primary flight school for Japanese army aviation in 1933. Following World War II, the United States Air Force used the facilities as an emergency landing strip until 1952, when the site was returned to the Japanese government to serve as a flight training school for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). In 1954, the base expanded its training syllabus to include maintenance and communications schools. Between 1958 and 1989, the installation was divided into northern and southern administrative areas. The Blue Impulse aerobatic squadron was stationed at the base from 1960 until its transfer to Matsushima Air Base in 1981.

The base is currently operated by the JASDF and serves as the headquarters for the Air Training Command. Units stationed at the base include the 1st Air Wing, which operates Kawasaki T-4 trainers within the 31st and 32nd Training Squadrons. Since 1998, the base has hosted the 602nd Squadron of the Airborne Early Warning Group, which operates Boeing E-767 AWACS aircraft. Other resident units include the Air Basic Training Wing, the Air Officer Training School, the 1st and 2nd Technical Schools, and the Hamamatsu Anti-Aircraft Missile Group. The Air Rescue Wing Hamamatsu Detachment operates U-125A and UH-60J aircraft. Support units include the Air Traffic Control Group, Air Weather Service Group, and Hamamatsu Air Police Group.

Infrastructure includes the JASDF Hamamatsu Air Base Publication Center, an aviation museum established in 1999. The facility houses historical aircraft from the JASDF, including a restored World War II-era A6M5 Zero. Regarding defensive systems, the MIM-104 Patriot missile has been deployed at the base since 2008. In 2004, the installation hosted a flight display by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.