A Celebration of Aviation and Friendship
Held against the backdrop of Japan’s Golden Week holiday, the 42nd JMSDF/MCAS Iwakuni Friendship Day on 5 May 2018 brought together an extraordinary collection of American and Japanese military aviation at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. For one day, the normally restricted base in Yamaguchi Prefecture opened its gates to the public, welcoming enormous crowds to experience the aircraft, people and capabilities of the forces that share this strategically important air station. More than simply an airshow, however, Friendship Day represented the enduring relationship between the United States and Japan, combining aviation, military demonstrations and cultural exchange into one of the most remarkable military aviation events in the Asia-Pacific region.
The origins of the event stretch back to 1973, when MCAS Iwakuni began holding an annual single-day open house intended to strengthen relations with the local community and demonstrate the cooperation that existed between the American forces stationed at Iwakuni and their Japanese hosts. By 2018, the event had reached its 42nd edition and, significantly, it was the fourth consecutive year in which the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps had jointly organised the occasion. Fleet Air Wing 31 of the JMSDF and MCAS Iwakuni therefore opened their shared home together, giving the event a genuinely bilateral character. Visitors were able to walk amongst American and Japanese aircraft, observe the different capabilities of the services based around the region and watch a flying programme that reflected the increasingly close operational relationship between the two nations.
The scale of Friendship Day was immediately apparent from the moment the gates opened. Vast numbers of visitors travelled from across Japan to Iwakuni, joining the local community for what had become an annual highlight of the Golden Week period. The atmosphere was very different from that of a conventional military airshow. This was a rare opportunity for Japanese visitors to enter a major American military installation and experience at close quarters an environment normally hidden behind the base perimeter. Alongside the flying displays were food stalls, entertainment, military vehicles and ground demonstrations, while the extensive aircraft static displays provided an exceptional snapshot of American and Japanese air power in 2018. Contemporary reports recorded approximately 215,000 visitors passing through the gates, underlining the immense popularity of the event.
For aviation enthusiasts, the 2018 edition was particularly significant because of the remarkable transition then taking place at MCAS Iwakuni. The base had become the first permanent overseas home for the U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II, with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the “Green Knights,” having relocated to Japan from the United States. Their presence gave the event one of its major attractions: the first aerial demonstration of the F-35B in Asia. At a time when the Lightning II was still a relatively new sight at airshows, seeing the short take-off and vertical landing variant perform over Iwakuni was a historic moment and one that drew particular attention from the huge crowd.
The F-35B demonstration showcased the extraordinary versatility of the fifth-generation fighter. Conventional high-speed passes demonstrated the aircraft’s fighter performance, while slower manoeuvres and its STOVL capabilities illustrated the technology that had made the F-35B such an important part of the Marine Corps’ future aviation plans. The aircraft was followed closely by the Japanese aviation community, particularly as Japan itself was beginning its own journey towards operating the Lightning II family. Friendship Day 2018 therefore provided a fascinating glimpse of the changing face of air power in the Pacific, where legacy aircraft still flew alongside the latest generation of combat aviation.
The F-35B was far from the only fighter to command attention. The Pacific Air Forces F-16 Demonstration Team travelled from Misawa Air Base to perform with the Fighting Falcon, providing the unmistakable combination of noise, energy and high-G manoeuvring for which the aircraft remains famous. The team’s participation was particularly notable in 2018, marking a transition between demonstration pilots as one pilot performed his final show while his successor made his first public appearance. The F-16’s display brought a very different character to the programme from the F-35B, its lightweight agility and spectacular manoeuvrability ensuring that one of the world’s most successful fighter aircraft remained a major attraction.
Representing the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was the Mitsubishi F-2, Japan’s highly capable indigenous multirole fighter. Although its appearance immediately recalls its relationship with the F-16, the F-2 is a distinctly Japanese development, incorporating a larger wing and a number of significant changes to suit the requirements of the JASDF. Its display provided one of the strongest examples of Japanese military aviation capability in the flying programme, combining powerful passes with agile manoeuvres over the airfield. The contrast between the American F-16 and Japanese F-2 was particularly appropriate for an event founded upon the partnership between the two countries.
Another popular participant came from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in the form of the UH-1J. While less dramatic than the fast jets, the helicopter demonstrated another side of Japan’s military aviation, representing the rotary-wing forces responsible for a wide variety of utility and support missions. Its appearance also helped underline one of Friendship Day’s greatest strengths: the event was not simply a fighter aircraft airshow, but a broad presentation of the different aircraft and capabilities operated by the American and Japanese armed forces.
Marine aviation naturally formed the centrepiece of the event, and the MV-22B Osprey was among its most impressive performers. The tiltrotor aircraft’s ability to combine helicopter-style operations with the speed and range associated with fixed-wing aviation made it perfectly suited to demonstrate the expeditionary capabilities of the Marine Corps. Its Level III aerial demonstration highlighted the aircraft’s manoeuvrability and unique flight characteristics, while the Osprey also played a role in the larger Marine Air-Ground Task Force demonstration. This action-packed presentation brought together several different Marine Corps assets in a simulated combat scenario, demonstrating the principle that Marine aviation does not operate in isolation but as an integrated element supporting forces on the ground.
The MAGTF demonstration was one of the day’s most dramatic sequences. Aircraft including MV-22Bs, KC-130Js, F/A-18Ds and F-35Bs combined to illustrate the ability of Marine forces to deploy and operate as a self-contained expeditionary organisation. Aerial manoeuvres, close air support and simulated refuelling demonstrated how the Marine Corps integrates its command, aviation and ground combat elements. For the huge civilian audience, it was a rare opportunity to see not just individual aircraft performing aerobatics, but a carefully choreographed representation of the way these assets can work together during operational missions.
Adding yet another dimension to the programme was Japanese aerobatic pilot Yoshihide Muroya. One of Japan’s best-known civilian display pilots and an internationally recognised competitor, Muroya brought the precision and energy of the civilian aerobatic world to an otherwise predominantly military programme. His display provided a contrast to the military demonstrations, with tightly controlled manoeuvres and spectacular aerobatics showing another side of Japanese aviation. His participation reflected the broader philosophy of Friendship Day, where military aviation was the central attraction but the event was designed to entertain and engage a much wider public audience.
The static displays were equally impressive and provided visitors with the opportunity to see a remarkable cross-section of aircraft that would rarely be gathered together at a single Japanese airshow. The ramp included examples of the U.S. Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Hornet, MV-22 Osprey, F-35B Lightning II and KC-130J Hercules, representing the different combat, assault-support and tanker capabilities available to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. Nearby, U.S. Navy aircraft added even greater variety, with F/A-18E and F Super Hornets, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and EA-18G Growler among the types displayed.
These aircraft illustrated the importance of Iwakuni as a major hub for American aviation in the western Pacific. Carrier Air Wing Five aircraft, including Super Hornets from squadrons such as VFA-27, VFA-102, VFA-115 and VFA-195, demonstrated the considerable U.S. Navy presence in the region, while the electronic warfare capabilities of the EA-18G Growler and airborne early-warning role of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye added further depth to the collection. Elsewhere, visitors could see an MH-60R Seahawk, an MH-53E Sea Dragon, A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, an MC-130J and other support aircraft, producing an exceptionally diverse American military aircraft line-up.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces were equally well represented. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force contributed an F-15J Eagle and other aircraft, while the Maritime Self-Defense Force presence included types such as the U-36A, EP-3, SH-60 and MCH-101. A KC-767J also represented Japan’s strategic air-to-air refuelling capability. Together, the displays gave visitors an opportunity to appreciate the scale and diversity of Japan’s military aviation, ranging from fighters and maritime patrol aircraft to helicopters, electronic intelligence platforms and tanker aircraft.
The importance of the static displays extended beyond simply allowing visitors to photograph aircraft. Friendship Day offered an opportunity for Japanese members of the public to meet the service personnel who operated and maintained them. Marines were present around their aircraft, while ground units demonstrated military vehicles, equipment and the support infrastructure necessary to keep an expeditionary force operating. Iwakuni-based units including Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 displayed elements of their heavy equipment and expeditionary capabilities, while Marine Air Control Squadron 4 helped demonstrate the aviation command-and-control functions that remain essential to safe and effective air operations.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the day, however, could not be measured by the number of aircraft or the scale of the flying programme. Since its beginnings in 1973, Friendship Day had been built around the relationship between MCAS Iwakuni and the Japanese community that surrounds it. In 2018, the event continued that tradition while also reflecting a broader strategic reality. The U.S.-Japan alliance had become one of the defining partnerships of the Asia-Pacific region, and nowhere was that cooperation more visibly represented than at Iwakuni, where American Marines and sailors operated alongside Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel.
The 42nd Friendship Day therefore became a celebration on several levels. It was an opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to see the latest generation of American combat aircraft alongside Japanese fighters and maritime aviation assets. It was a chance to witness the F-35B’s first airshow demonstration in Asia and to see the Marine Corps demonstrate its integrated MAGTF concept. It brought together aircraft from the Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Yet above all, it remained faithful to the principle on which the event had originally been founded more than four decades earlier: opening the gates of MCAS Iwakuni and bringing together two communities separated by nationality but increasingly connected by a shared history, shared security interests and a shared passion for aviation.
For those fortunate enough to attend, Friendship Day 2018 offered an extraordinary day on one of the Pacific’s most important military airfields. From the historic significance of the F-35B’s Asian debut to the thunder of the F-16 and F-2, the distinctive tiltrotor manoeuvres of the MV-22B, the impressive scale of the MAGTF demonstration and the vast collection of aircraft spread across the ramps, the event delivered a comprehensive portrait of military aviation in the region. More importantly, as the crowds left Iwakuni at the end of the day, the 42nd Friendship Day had once again fulfilled the purpose that had guided the event since 1973: celebrating friendship between Japan and the United States through the universal spectacle of flight.
