MCAS Iwakuni (Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport, 岩国飛行場)

Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni is situated in the Nishiki river delta of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The Japanese government established the site as a naval air station in 1940. During World War II, the base functioned as a training and defense facility, hosting Zero fighters and a branch of the Etajima Naval Academy. Following the war, the base was occupied by various Allied forces, including the Royal Australian Air Force, before the United States military assumed control in 1950 to support operations in the Korean War. It became an official U.S. military installation in 1952. Between 1952 and 1964, the facility also supported scheduled international commercial aviation.

The station is a joint-use facility operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). It serves as the base for Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) and the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5). The Marine Corps presence includes squadrons of F-35B Lightning II and KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft. Carrier Air Wing Five operates squadrons of F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The JMSDF Fleet Air Wing 31 operates several platforms, including US-2 and US-1A search and rescue amphibians, electronic intelligence aircraft, and MCH-101 helicopters.

Infrastructure at the station includes a harbor co-located with the airfield to support the transport of military assets between sea and shore. The airfield features a seaplane ramp and a V/STOL pad. An offshore runway became operational in May 2010. The facility also hosts a civilian terminal, Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport, for domestic commercial flights.

Recent mission changes include the relocation of Carrier Air Wing Five's fixed-wing aircraft from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, a process completed in March 2018. In January 2017, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 arrived as the first forward-deployed F-35B squadron in the Marine Corps and has since conducted sorties in the region. Operational history includes a December 2018 mid-air collision between an F/A-18D and a KC-130J during a training exercise. The base holds an annual air show, Friendship Day, which serves as a bilateral event for U.S. personnel and Japanese nationals.