The F-35 sporting the tail code “WW” will be a part of Misawa’s thirty fifth Fighter Wing and fly the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission from Japan.
On June 16, 2026, the F-35A Lightning II plane 24-5970 made its first flight from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Price. The jet departed round 2PM native time and returned roughly an hour later for a straight in strategy to a full cease, accompanied by an ATAC F-1 chase.
The plane, destined to the thirty fifth Fighter Wing, primarily based at Misawa Air Base, Japan, is the primary F-35 to hold the long-lasting “WW” tail code, because the images, taken by photographer Tim Wurth, present.
Standing for Wild Weasel, the code displays the wing’s heritage and mission, a nickname that, for the reason that Vietnam Warfare, has been related to U.S. Air Drive models and plane tasked with the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission. Misawa’s fighters adopted the “WW” tail code on Jun. 18, 1996, when the thirty fifth Fighter Wing modified its tail flash from “MJ” to “WW” to replicate each its mission and its lengthy affiliation with Wild Weasel operations, together with its earlier position because the Wild Weasel coaching middle at George AFB.
Curiously, the textual content “FILO” seems on high of the tail: it stands for “First In, Final Out,” the thirty fifth Fighter Wing’s motto, which highlights the unit’s willingness and confidence to place lives on the road, press the assault towards built-in air protection methods, and see every mission by.
The plane is alleged to be destined to the thirteenth Fighter Squadron, though it’s truly the Operations Group commander’s plane sporting additionally the badge of the 14th Fighter Squadron on the suitable air consumption: a related association was beforehand seen on F-16C 90-0805 at Misawa Air Base. The plane, marked as a thirty fifth Operations Group jet, carried the 14th Fighter Squadron emblem on the suitable aspect of the tail and the thirteenth Fighter Squadron emblem on the left, successfully representing each of Misawa’s Wild Weasel squadrons fairly than a single unit.
The thirteenth Fighter Squadron traces its fashionable fight id to the Vietnam Warfare. Its predecessor, the thirteenth Tactical Fighter Squadron, was activated in 1966 and operated from Korat Royal Thai Air Drive Base, flying Wild Weasel missions towards North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile websites. Official Misawa materials says the squadron “pioneered the Wild Weasel mission in the course of the Vietnam Warfare.”
The squadron later adopted the “Panther Pack” id. In keeping with Misawa’s truth sheet, in 1972 the thirteenth FS adopted a black Asian leopard named Eldridge and have become often called the Panther Pack.
The F-35A 24-5970 will be a part of the primary 4 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets that arrived at Misawa on Mar. 28, 2026, marking the arrival of the service’s first F-35s to be completely primarily based in Japan. As defined in a earlier story we printed right here at The Aviationist, the primary 4 plane, which arrived from the U.S. after a cease at Hickam Air Drive Base, Hawaii, weren’t newly constructed: three F-35s had been transferred from Hill Air Drive Base, Utah, whereas the fourth beforehand belonged to RAF Lakenheath, UK. All of them retained their unique tail codes, respectively “HL” and “LN”.
Together with the thirteenth FS, additionally the 14th Fighter Squadron will exchange its F-16C/Ds with the F-35A: total, the thirty fifth Fighter Wing is slated to switch 36 F-16s with 48 F-35As.
The transition from the F-16 to the F-35 marks a serious evolution in Misawa’s Wild Weasel mission, with the Lightning II bringing capabilities which are inherently suited to SEAD.
The F-35 and the Wild Weasel mission
The F-35 is alleged to have the power to find and monitor enemy forces, jam radio frequencies and disrupt assaults from stand-off distance. Nonetheless, it nonetheless lacks the combination of a missile for SEAD missions.
Whereas the Block 3F already offered the power to make use of, among the many different stand-off weapons, additionally the GBU-39 SDBs (Small Diameter Bombs), in the mean time, the AARGM-ER, the missile that may exchange the AGM-88 and that the F-35A and F-35C will be capable of carry contained in the weapons bay, continues to be not obtainable.
As I’ve beforehand famous, the USAF is adopting the AARGM-ER as an interim resolution for the service’s Stand In Assault Weapon program for the F-35A and different platforms. Northrop is anticipated to provide 5,000+ AARGM-ER / SiAW weapons beneath the present effort.
— Air-Energy | NatSec Ledger (@NatSecLedger) February 23, 2026
So, the plane’s SEAD functionality is, no less than for a while, principally reliant on the F-35’s AESA (Lively Electronically Scanned Array) radar with refined digital assault capabilities, together with false targets, community assault, superior jamming and algorithm-packed knowledge streams.
In an official U.S. Air Drive launch earlier this yr, Lt. Col. John Widmer, commander of the thirteenth Fighter Squadron, described the F-35 as “tailor made to be a weasel platform,” noting that whereas legacy plane carried sensors or weapons added particularly for the mission, the F-35 was designed from the outset as a sensor platform, combining stealth, superior sensors, sensor fusion and the power to “quarterback” the battle. In keeping with Widmer, stealth is likely one of the most vital benefits within the transition from the F-16, however it’s the plane’s always evolving sensor bundle that permits pilots to detect, perceive and handle the total spectrum of enemy threats.
Many due to Tim Wurth for sharing the images with us and to Victoria Mae Fontana for the heads-up!
