The U.S. Air Force activated the 35th Air Maintenance Squadron at Misawa Air Base in Japan on July 17, 2026. The unit assumes responsibility for maintaining the wing’s F-35A Lightning II fleet as the installation phases out its F-16 aircraft. The activation marks the latest step in Misawa’s transition from the F-16 Fighting Falcon to the F-35A, a process that began with the arrival of the first F-35 in March and the public unveiling on April 24. The wing had previously activated the 35th Munitions Squadron in 2025 to support weapon maintenance for the same fleet. Maj. Alex Carmona assumed command of the squadron during a ceremony on July 17, according to an email from the 35th Fighter Wing. The new squadron consolidates the 13th and 14th Fighter Generation Squadrons, which were redesignated as the 13th and 14th Aircraft Maintenance Units. Its patch depicts a weasel holding a wrench beneath the words ‘Home of the Wild Weasels,’ reflecting the wing’s Wild Weasel mission to locate and suppress enemy air defenses. The 35th Fighter Wing announced that the F-35As will assume the Wild Weasel role, supporting regional deterrence and combat operations. The F-35A is the conventional takeoff-and-landing variant of the Lightning II, while the Marine Corps operates the F-35B for short takeoffs and vertical landings and the Navy’s F-35C is designed for carrier use. The F-35 offers greater stealth, range, and payload capacity than the F-16s it replaces. As part of a $10 billion Pentagon plan announced in 2024 to modernize U.S. tactical aviation in Japan, the aircraft are arriving at Misawa, the first U.S. air base in the Western Pacific to receive permanently assigned F-35As. The wing transferred several upgraded F-16s to Osan Air Base in South Korea last year in preparation for the new aircraft. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has operated its own F-35A at Misawa since 2018. The integration of the F-35A fleet at Misawa remains on schedule, though the timing of full operational capability for the maintenance squadron is still being coordinated.