Airborne early warning unit set up at Okinawa base to bolster surveillance by Japan

A new unit of early warning aircraft has been permanently assigned to an Air Self-Defense Force base here to bolster Japan's surveillance capabilities over its southwestern islands, including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The four E-2C early warning planes that comprise the unit were restationed to Naha Air Base on Okinawa's main island from the ASDF Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture.

Until now, E-2C aircraft from Misawa had only been deployed to Naha on a rotational basis.