Introduction
I would like to talk about a rather unusual idea for the Japanese tech tree. This idea being a line of USFJ aircraft for rank V+ of the Japanese air tech tree.
Now, I know how this sounds. It sounds like another idea akin to the Japanese Su-27 suggestion, but I believe this one actually has some sense to it when handled correctly. In this topic I plan to explain why that is and how I believe this could work.
What is USFJ?
USFJ manages the US-Japan Alliance and sets conditions within Japan to ensure US service components maintain a lethal posture and readiness to support regional operations in steady state, crisis, and contingency and that bilateral mechanisms between the United States and Japan provide the ability to coordinate and synchronize actions in support of the US-Japan Alliance.
History
Spoiler
Spoilered for readability
After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in Asia, the United States Armed Forces assumed administrative authority in Japan. The Japanese Imperial Army and Navy were decommissioned, and the US Armed Forces took control of Japanese military bases until a new government could be formed and positioned to reestablish authority. Allied forces planned to demilitarize Japan, and the new government adopted the Constitution of Japan with a no-armed-force clause in 1947.
After the Korean War began in 1950, Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan and the Japanese government established the paramilitary “National Police Reserve”, which was later developed into the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
In 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco was signed by the allied countries and Japan, which restored its formal sovereignty. At the same time, the U.S. and Japan signed the Japan-America Security Alliance. By this treaty, USFJ is responsible for the defense of Japan. As part of this agreement, the Japanese government requested that the U.S. military bases remain in Japan, and agreed to provide funds and various interests specified in the Status of Forces Agreement. At the expiration of the treaty, the United States and Japan signed the new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan. The status of the United States Forces Japan was defined in the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement. This treaty is still in effect, and it forms the basis of Japan’s foreign policy.
During the Vietnam War, US military bases in Japan, especially those in the Okinawa Prefecture, were used as important strategic and logistic bases. In 1970, the Koza riot occurred against the US military presence on Okinawa. The USAF strategic bombers were deployed in the bases on Okinawa, which were still administered by the US government. Before the 1972 reversion of the island to Japanese administration, it has been speculated but never confirmed that up to 1,200 nuclear weapons may have been stored at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa during the 1960s.
As of 2013, there are approximately 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan, along with approximately 40,000 dependents of military personnel and another 5,500 American civilians employed there by the United States Department of Defense. The United States Seventh Fleet is based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is based on Okinawa. 130 USAF fighters are stationed in the Misawa Air Base and Kadena Air Base.
5th Air Force
Spoiler
Fifth Air Force (5 AF) activated for the first time in its history as the Philippine Department Air Force at Nichols Field, Philippines, in September 1941. The following month the organization underwent a re-designation that reflected a wider area of responsibility in the region: Far East Air Force (FEAF).
FEAF immediately experienced its baptism by fire in December 1941, only a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, had drawn the U.S. into World War II. The enemy forces’ strike on the Philippines was also a surprise attack that caught all U.S. forces on the islands flat-footed, destroying most FEAF aircraft on the ground before they could be deployed against the invaders. However, some FEAF aviators succeeded in becoming airborne and engaged enemy fighters, helping to slow the Japanese advance on the Philippines and thereby enabling many Allied forces to withdraw south to the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) and Australia.
FEAF headquarters relocated briefly to Australia, then Java, and back to Australia as the Japanese war machine pressed forward and expanded the boundaries of its empire. On Feb. 5, 1942, FEAF received its numerical designation, becoming “5 Air Force” and then “Fifth Air Force” September 18 while under the command of Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney. By this time, Fifth Air Force and other Allied air, land, and sea forces had stalled the enemy juggernaut and subsequently began the long counteroffensive to liberate the Southwest Pacific region from the Japanese.
From 1942 to the end of the war, Fifth Air Force under General Kenney served as the flying vanguard for General Douglas MacArthur’s island-hopping campaign, driving enemy forces out of New Guinea, the Bismarck Sea, and the Philippines. Shortly before the Japanese surrender, Fifth Air Force established its headquarters on Japanese soil for the first time, operating out of Hamasaki, Okinawa. Fifth Air Force accomplishments by the end of World War II included 3,445 aerial victories and ten Medal of Honor recipients, two of whom were the highest-scoring aces in U.S. history, Maj Richard Bong (40 confirmed victories) and Maj Thomas McGuire (38 confirmed victories).
Fifth Air Force arrived on mainland Japan in September 1945 to participate in the Allied occupation of the country and provide the protective air component for the defense of the Republic of Korea (ROK, or South Korea). During this time, Fifth Air Force played a major role in establishing the ROK Air Force (ROKAF), which activated in 1949.
The scourge of war abruptly struck again in June 1950, when the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) unleashed a massive blitzkrieg on the South. The invasion inaugurated a conflict that continued until July 1953, during which time Fifth Air Force served as the combat air force for United Nations Command (UNC). In December 1950, Fifth Air Force relocated its headquarters to South Korea and remained there to oversee combat operations before returning to Japan in 1954.
During the course of the conflict, Fifth Air Force warfighters flew more than 625,000 missions and recorded 953 aerial victories against DPRK, Chinese, and Soviet aircraft. In addition, close air support missions accounted for more than 45 percent of enemy troop casualties. A total of 38 fighter pilots accomplished ace status, including Lt. Col. James Jabara, the first jet ace in history, and Capt. Joseph McConnell, the leading ace of the conflict, scoring 16 confirmed victories. Four Fifth Air Force Airmen earned the Medal of Honor in combat operations, all of them posthumously awarded.
Following the Korean War armistice, Fifth Air Force returned to Japan to resume its role of maintaining a strong tactical posture for the defense of that country, as well as the ROK and the northwestern Pacific region. Moreover, Fifth Air Force played a critical role in the establishment of another allied air force, Koku-Jieitai, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), which activated in 1954.
Another hot spot in the Cold War against communism broke out ten years later in a region south of the Fifth Air Force area of responsibility (AOR). The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident drew the U.S. into a conflict in support of allies in Southeast Asia, the Vietnam War. Fifth Air Force assisted with effort, rotating aircraft, crews, support personnel, and supplies through the region until the U.S. disengagement and withdrawal from the conflict in the early 1970s.
The Fifth Air Force AOR remained a tense region during and after the Vietnam War. Repeated DPRK incursions across the Korean de-militarized zone (DMZ) and events such as the 1968 USS Pueblo incident and the 1983 shoot-down of a South Korean airliner affirmed the necessity of Fifth Air Force units to maintain high levels of readiness for the possibility of hostilities escalating on the peninsula and other parts of the Fifth Air Force AOR.
In November 1974, HQ Fifth Air Force relocated to Yokota AB, its present home station. Fifth Air Force’s direct oversight of the Korean peninsula ended in 1986 with the activation of Seventh Air Force (7 AF) at Osan AB, ROK. With its AOR now centered exclusively on Japan, Fifth Air Force has focused much of its energy on building and strengthening the alliance with the host nation through numerous bilateral initiatives with Koku-Jieitai, expanding the capabilities of the Japanese air service and bringing it into a more active partnership that maintains the security of the Pacific region.
The Fifth Air Force presence in Japan transcends readiness in combat operations and has included valuable assistance coordinated and rendered to the host nation and other peoples throughout the region in response to natural disasters. Such aid occurred following the 1995 Kobe earthquake, the 1997 typhoon that struck Guam, the 2004 tsunami that surged across the Indian Ocean, the 2008 Myanmar cyclone, the 2009 Indonesia earthquake, and several other catastrophes. Most notably, Fifth Air Force played a major role in Operation TOMODACHI, a massive coordinated relief effort launched in response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Units that fall under 5 AF:
18th Wing
Spoiler
The 18th Wing was born on 21 January 1927 when the War Department organized a provisional pursuit group at Wheeler Field, Territory of Hawaii. Shortly thereafter the group was renamed the 18th Pursuit Group, pilots flew training missions in the air defense of Hawaii using DeHavilland DH-4 and Boeing PW-9 aircraft. On 6 October 1939, the group was again renamed to the 18th Pursuit Group (Interceptor). After their activation on the 1 January 1941 the 44th Pursuit Squadron was soon assigned to the 18th Pursuit Group.
The Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands on 7 December 1941 severely hurt the unit. Only two P-40 aircraft belonging to the 44th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Bellows Field were able to take-off. Both planes were immediately shot down while the rest of the squadron’s aircraft were heavily damaged. Over the months following the attack, 18th airmen received new aircraft and commenced training for the war with Japan. The group would be renamed the 18th Fighter Group in May 1942.
In March 1943, the 18th Fighter Group entered the war effort and joined the 13th Air Force in the South Pacific Theater. During the war, the 18th Fighter Group operated from New Hebrides, Guadalcanal; New Guinea; and the Philippine Islands. The group participated in campaigns for the southern Russell Islands, Rabaul, Bougainville, New Georgia, Halmaheras, Celebes, Borneo, Leyte, and Luzon (Philippines). World War II battle honors include the Central Pacific, Northern Solomons, Bismark, Archipelago, Western Pacific, Southern Philippines, and Luzon. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for action in the Philippines in 1944. By mid-1944, the 18th Fighter Group received their new weapons system, the P-38 Lightning.
On 14 August 1948, the 18th Fighter Group moved to Clark Air Base on Luzon, in the Philippines, becoming part of the newly formed 18th Fighter Wing. The 18th Fighter Group flew the F-51 Mustang and the F-80 Shooting Star aircraft during their tenure at Clark Air Base, being the first overseas fighter unit to be jet-equipped. On 2 January 1950, the group and the wing would once again change their names, this time to the 18th Fighter-Bomber.
When hostilities began in Korea, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group and two flying squadrons (12th and 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons) deployed to the combat zone with F-51 Mustang aircraft. A third flying squadron (44th Fighter-Bomber Squadron) remained at Clark Air Base with the wing to provide air defense for the Philippine Islands. The 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing, minus the 44th, moved to Pyongyang East, North Korea, on 1 December 1950. The wing assumed control of the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group; the group had been attached to the 2nd Squadron of the South African Air Force. In Korea, the group gained the reputation as “truckbusters”. They flew their Mustangs from Dogpatch, Air Base and destroyed large numbers of enemy vehicles, warehouses, factories, bridges, troop concentrations, and anti-aircraft sites.
The 18th Fighter Group was the first Air Force unit to shoot down an enemy prop-driven aircraft over Korea, and the first to encounter Soviet-built MiG-15 jet aircraft. One of the group’s officers, Maj. Louis J. Sebille, commander of the 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, became the first Air Force member to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously). The group went on to earn 10 battle honors in Korea, as well as two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations and two Distinguished Unit Citations. When the Korean armistice was signed in July 1953, the wing and its tactical units had moved to Osan Air Base operating the F-86 Sabrejet aircraft.
On 1 November 1954, the wing moved to Kadena Air Base located on Okinawa, Japan. The long detached 44th Fighter-Bomber Squadron physically rejoined the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in July 1955. Two years later the Wing converted to the F-100 Super Sabre aircraft. On 1 October 1957, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group officially inactivated, and the wing assumed direct control over the three flying squadrons. On 1 July 1958, the wing would receive another name change, this time to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing.
The 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron located on Kadena Air Base was attached to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing in March 1960. The pilots of the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron operated the RF-101 Voodoo aircraft until receiving the RF-4C Phantom in 1967.
During 1963, the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing converted from the Super Sabre to the F-105 Thunderchief aircraft. The wing became involved in the Vietnam conflict late in 1964, deploying the 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron. The 44th and 67th Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the combat zones, but fell under the control of the 2nd Air Division and operated from Korat Air Base, Thailand.
In response to the North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo in January 1968, the wing and the 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea for forward defense alert operations.
The 18th Tactical Fighter Wing received its first F-4C Phantom aircraft in 1971, and changed to the improved “D” model in 1975. In September 1979, the wing made it’s final weapons system conversion with the arrival of the F-15 Eagle aircraft. The 18th Tactical Fighter Group made a brief appearance again in May 1978, but was inactivated again in less than three years.
In October 1989, the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Taegu Air Base, Republic of Korea, under the direction of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and 7th Air Force.
On 1 October 1991, a major Air Force reorganization caused the inactivation of the 313th Air Division and all the assets on Kadena Air Base fell under control of the newly renamed 18th Wing. The 18th Wing gained several operational units, including the 961st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, the 623rd Air Control Squadron, and the 909th Air Refueling Squadron. In addition, the wing assumed control for all support, logistics, and medical units on Kadena Air Base. The reorganization made the 18th Wing one of the largest composite wings in the Air Force.
The 13th Airlift Squadron from the Military Airlift Command (now Air Mobility Command) joined the 18th Wing in June 1992. Pilots from the 13th Airlift Squadron flew the C-12 aircraft. The Western Pacific Rescue Coordination Center also fell under the control of the 18th Wing during this time period.
In February 1993, the 33rd Air Rescue Squadron joined the 18th Wing with its HH-3E Jolly Green helicopters. The squadron has converted to the HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter since that time. The 13th Airlift Squadron inactivated on 30 September 1993, and the Rescue Coordination Center was reassigned to Hickam Air Base, Hawaii, Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces on 1 July 1994.
In late 1999, the 12th Fighter Squadron relocated to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, leaving the 18th Wing with two operational F-15 flying squadrons.
In 2002 the 18th Wing reorganized into the Combat Wing format. The 18th Logistics Readiness and Contracting Squadrons moved into the newly formed 18th Mission Support Group, and the 18th Maintenance Group activated to consolidate all maintenance activities within the wing under one organization. At the same time, the 18th Equipment Maintenance, Component Maintenance, and Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons activated, and the Logistics Support Squadron was redesignated as the Maintenance Operations Squadron.
In 2003 three more squadrons joined the 18th Wing: the 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron; the 31st Rescue Squadron; and the 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. The 718th and 31st squadrons did not represent any personnel increases, as the personnel for those squadrons came out of two existing squadrons, the 33rd Rescue and 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons. The 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron moved to Kadena from Yokota AB, Japan after they retired the C-9 Nightingale fleet at that location.
The 18th Wing deployed personnel and equipment worldwide in support of the Global War on Terror. Units worked out of bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, in Southwest Asia, as well as the Philippines and Thailand in East Asia. Additionally, the 67th Fighter Squadron from Kadena flew the first missions over Baghdad in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
Many honors have been bestowed on the 18th Wing over the years, including three Distinguished Unit Citations and many Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards. The 18th Wing carries the distinction of being the only tactical wing never to have been stationed within the continental United States.
35th Fighter Wing
Spoiler
Activated at Johnson Air Base, Japan on August 10, 1948, the 35th Fighter Wing carries the bestowed honor of the Army Air Force’s 35th Fighter Group, established on December 22, 1939. During the course of World War II, the 35th Fighter Group fought through the Pacific from Australia to Japan. Richard I. Bong, the Air Force’s all-time, top scoring ace, scored his first aerial victories while temporarily attached to the group. However, the 35th Fighter Group and 35th Fighter Wing’s all-time top ace was Thomas J. Lynch, who scored 20 aerial victories before being shot down over New Guinea. Following World War II, the group began occupation and air defense duties on mainland Japan. In 1948, the 35th Fighter Wing assumed operational command of the 35th Fighter Group and continued the group’s mission set from Johnson Air Base.
In 1950, the 35th Fighter Wing was one of the first units to respond to the crisis in Korea by flying missions from mainland Japan to support the Pusan Perimeter. In July, the 35th Fighter Wing’s operations group and two fighter squadrons deployed to Korea for combat; however, the wing – with one assigned and one attached squadron – flew air defense and photographic reconnaissance missions in Japan. In December, the wing headquarters moved without personnel or equipment to South Korea and assumed the resources of the 6150th Tactical Support Wing. From Korea, the 35th Fighter Wing flew F-51 Mustang aircraft in combat operations, including armed reconnaissance, bomber escort, interdiction, and ground support. After suffering heavy causalities, the unit returned to Japan in May 1951 where it remained until its inactivation in October 1957.
In 1966, the Air Force reactivated the 35th Fighter Wing for combat operations at Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam. The wing remained at Da Nang for five months where it scored four aerial victories. These victories made the 35th Fighter Wing one of the few wings in the U.S. Air Force to have attained aerial victories in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In October 1966, the 35th Fighter Wing relocated to Phan Rang Air Base where it flew vided air support of ground forces, interdiction, visual and armed reconnaissance, strike assessment photography, escort, close and direct air support and rapid reaction alert missions. The wing continued operations from Phan Rang until 1971 when the unit inactivated with the gradual drawdown of U.S. forces in Vietnam.
The 35th Fighter Wing reactivated the same year at George Air Force Base where it began its long association with the Wild Weasel mission. Initially, the wing provided exercise, test, and training for F-4 aircrew and maintenance personnel. However, in July 1973, the wing began training replacement aircrews for the F-105G, Wild Weasel III aircraft. The Wild Weasel mission is the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses and the protection of other aircraft from enemy surface-to-air missile systems. In 1975, the wing began similar training for the F-4C, Wild Weasel IV, aircrews.
While assigned to George Air Force Base, the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) activated at Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain in support of Operation DESERT SHIELD in 1990. In the first days of Operation DESERT STORM, the invasion of Iraq, Wild Weasel aircrews of the wing led and protected waves of fighter-bombers in hostile Iraqi airspace. Throughout the conflict, the wing provided Wild Weasel support, and by the end of the war, the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) had destroyed 254 radar sites, effectively shutting down the entire Iraqi air defense system. The wing played an essential role in the successful air campaign and completed 3,072 combat sorties totaling more than 10,000 flight hours. Meanwhile, A Base Realignment and Closure commission selected George Air Force Base for closure, and the wing began phasing down and inactivated in December 1992.
In an effort to protect its legacy, the Air Force instituted a heritage scoring system to ensure units with distinguished histories remained active. Out of more than 200 units, the 35th Fighter Wing ranked third, ensuring its place among active units. As a result, the Air Force activated the 35th Wing at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, on May 31, 1993, flying air defense missions in the F-15C Eagle. Sixteen months later the 35th Fighter Wing inactivated at Keflavik and activated the same day at Misawa Air Base, Japan. At Misawa AB, the wing resumed Wild Weasel operations. After achieving initial operational capability on F-16CJ aircraft in 1996, the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons and Airmen of the 35th Fighter Wing have repeatedly deployed in support of Operations SOUTHERN, NORTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, and ENDURING FREEDOM in Southwest Asia.
374th Airlift Wing
USFJ Line
What?
The strong military alliance between the two countries and even direct integration of these foreing aircraft into modern Japanese air defense is a textbook example for what justifies a subtree of one nation to the other. However, both nation’s tech trees already exists. Because of this, a subtree in the “traditional” sense is not possible, and also not the focus of this topic.
Instead, the idea would be to include the specific USFJ aircraft in a line of the japanese tech tree, where they can support the air defenses of Japan as they do in reality.
Some possible aircraft are:
Spoiler
Information may be outdated since I simply copied this from my old forum topic
F-80C
- Used in 1950
- 35th Fighter Wing (Ashiya)
F-94
Spoiler
- Used from 1951-1957
- 35th Fighter Wing (Johnson)
F-84G
- Used from 1953-1959
- 31st Fighter Wing (Misawa)
F-86F
Spoiler
- Used from 1954-1957
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-100A
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- Used from 1957-1963
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-100D
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- Used from 1957-1963
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-100F
Spoiler
- Used from 1957-1963
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-105D
Spoiler
- Used from 1962-1972
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-4D
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- Used from 1967-1989
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
AV-8B
- Used from 19??-Present
- 1st Marine Air Wing (Foster)
F-15C
- Used from 1991-Present
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
- Later moderinized aircraft (such as those with APG-63V3)
F-16C
- Used from 1991-Present
- 18th Wing (Kadena)
F-16CJ
Spoiler
- Used from 1996-Present
- 35th Fighter Wing (Misawa)
F-16CM
- Used from 2023-Present
- 52nd Fighter Wing (Kadena)
F/A-18D
- Used from 19??-Present
- 1st Marine Air Wing (Foster)
F-22A
- Used from 2022-Present
- 525th Fighter Squadron (Kadena)
F-35B
Spoiler
- Used from 2017-Present
- 1st Marine Air Wing (Kadena)
Why?
The main reason for this line is even necessary in the first place is the lack of variety starting with rank V of the Japanese tech tree, as well as the large gaps between BRs and vehicle additions. This also strongly affects interest by newer players in the tree, that often look at the exciting modern aircraft to pick a tech tree to play.
How?
In game, these aircraft would receive one otherwise unoccupied line in the air tech tree, starting with rank V, where they would be introduced to fill gaps otherwise unfillable by Japanese options. They could also serve as low effort additions next to equal US aircraft when Japan lacks equivalent content to add, increasing the frequency of new additions to the tech tree. Finally they could also be added as premium options if necessary, possibly letting more unique Japanese options find their place in the tech tree instead.
While not quite equivalent to a proper subtree due to the still rather limited variety of aircraft and complete lack of ground forces, this can be an easy way to fill some holes and offer new capabilities that might otherwise be lacking.
Issues
This is the area that requires the most care, as an unconventional idea comes with unconventional issues.
Spoiler
Spoilered for readability
“Stolen” content
The first issue would be an issue of fairness. With US aircraft being implemented in another tree, US players will get (understandably) upset if these provide capabilities, features or variants not found in their tech tree. Considering these aircraft are still technically US operated this issue gets multiplied even further. So to combat this issue it is important for every aircraft to be present in the US tech tree as well in equal configuration.
Copy and Paste
The second issue is repetetive content. That being, for players that have already played the US tech tree, none of these aircraft are interesting, and they become more of a chore to research again. That is why these aircraft should be purely optional, not being required to unlock a further rank or to reach a Japanese aircraft at the end of their line.
Blue on blue
The third issue is that US players would not want to face their own forces in battle. This would be avoided by implementing a historical matchmaking that forces US and Japanese forces on the same side starting with the start of the USFJ line. This matchmaking seems to already be present in game, however it is still important to mention.
Contentblock
Lastly, the issue that might concern the current players of the tech tree, and that is the potential to slow down development regarding much sought after Japanese additions or even a proper subtree. This is a concern I have myself, so I’ll make it as clear as I can:
A USFJ aircraft should never take priority over a Japanese aircraft, or that of a proper subtree. These aircraft should be the last option, when no other addtion is available.
They may be added in updates, where otherwise no aircraft would’ve been added at all.
Conclusion
I mainly made this as a remake of my old forum topic and at this point the whole topic is redundant, with the Thai subtree approaching ever closer. However, while I do not see the same necessity I saw when I made the old topic, I still believe this is a reasonable and historically relevant topic that is at least worth having somewhere on this newer forum.
Sources
Spoiler
18th Wing History
18th Wing - Wikipedia
About USFJ
United States Forces Japan - Wikipedia
5TH AIR FORCE > 5th Air Force > Display
35th Fighter Wing > Misawa Air Base > Display
Units
Looking back at Misawa's history in July > Misawa Air Base > Article Display
https://www.f-100.org/hun084.shtml
1st Marine Aircraft Wing - Wikipedia
USFJ line for Japan - Japan - War Thunder - Official Forum