U.S. Air Force F-15 and F-22 fighter jets with aircrews from Kadena Air Base, arrived at Yokota Air Base, seeking refuge from Typhoon Maria, which has killed at least 114 people and injured dozens more in Japan.
The storm Maria, now classed as a super typhoon, threatens landslides and torrential floods across eastern Asia. The death toll reached at least 114, NHK public television said, with 61 people missing.
The typhoon could threaten the US Air Force fighters and, in connection with which, it was decided to evacuate the aircraft to Yokota, United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa.
The Kadena Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Over 20,000 American servicemembers, family members, and Japanese employees live or work aboard Kadena Air Base. It is the largest and most active US Air Force base in the Far East.
According to the 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, this is the first time all of Kadena’s F-15 fighter jets evacuated to Yokota.
With regard to the F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, they are were deployed at Kadena Air Base under U.S. PACOM’s theater security package (TSP) program, which has been in operation since 2004.
