The U.S. Marine Corps has deployed VMFA-533, the Hawks, to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan under the Unit Deployment Program, bringing F-35B Lightning II fighters to one of its key forward bases in the Indo-Pacific. The squadron arrived on 5 September and was publicly identified in the service’s 8 September announcement.
VMFA-533 joins Marine Aircraft Group 12 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, replacing VMFA-232 in the rotational deployment. The move maintains a forward, combat-ready Marine aviation presence alongside Japanese and other regional partners while sustaining U.S. demand for short take-off and vertical landing F-35B operations in the western Pacific. The squadron departed Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, in early September before transiting to Japan.