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The First Tactical Airlift Group; Komaki, November 10, 2019

The Japan Air Support Group, part 2; Text and Photograph's by Alex van Noye

The Japanese 1st Tactical Air Group is based on Komaki Air Base near the city of Nagoya. This unit consists of two squadron equipped with the Lockheed C-130H Hercules for tactical transports and the Boeing KC-767J for strategic tanker tasks. The tankers in particular play an important role for the future of the JASDF.

The 1st Tactical Airlift Group (1TAG) of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) is based on Komaki Air Base near the Japanese city of Nagoya and Komaki in the Aichi prefecture. The 1TAG, just like the other transport units, falls under the command of the Air Support Group of the JASDF. The 1TAG consists of two operational transport squadrons. These two units are the 401 Hikotai and the 404 Hikotai. The first unit under the command of the 1TAG is the 401 Hikotai also referred to as the 401st Tactical Airlift Squadron. This unit is currently equipped with the Lockheed C-130H Hercules and Lockheed KC-130H Hercules. The 401 Hikotai was formed at Miho Air Base on October 1, 1968. The unit was equipped with the American Curtiss C-46D Commando at the time of its establishment. In the ten previous years from 1958 to 1968, another unit already operated with these aircraft as the predecessor of the 401 Hikotai. This predecessor of the squadron belonged to the Miho detachments that would later be upgraded to the current Air Support Group. Very soon the outdated C-46D was replaced by the then new YS-11P at the 401 Hikotai in December 1969. The C-46D eventually stayed in service at the unit until 1978. In March 1973, in addition to the YS-11 the 401 Hikotai also introduced the Kawasaki C-1. The C-1 was then a new aircraft at the JASDF and was the first aircraft of a new generation of tactical transport aircraft at the Air Force of Japan. On March 31, 1978, the unit was moved from Miho Air Base to its current location Komaki Air Base.

Because the Kawasaki C-1 only had a limited flight range, the aircraft at 401 Hikotai was replaced after just over ten years by the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in September 26, 1984. The C-130 Hercules was compared to its predecessor a much better plane. The C-130H Hercules has a much larger flight range than its predecessor the Kawasaki C-1. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Japan's political situation has gradually been more outward-looking than purely domestic deployment. The Japanese

self-defense forces would show themselves more at the edge of the Japanese empire around the islands and territorial waters. The new missions that were flown included humanitarian aid and evacuation missions, support for American and Japanese military activities and participation in multinational military exercises. The use of a tactical transport aircraft such as the C-130H Hercules was therefore a logical choice for the country. The Kawasaki C-1 and the YS-11 disappeared from the orbat at the 401 Hikotai from mid-1989. The unit became therefore fully operational with the C-130 Hercules from here. In total, the 401 Hikotai received fourteen C-130 aircraft at Komaki. From February 25, 2010, the 401 Hikotai also has a single KC-130H Hercules in its orbat. This aircraft was purchased to do tests with refueling helicopters with the Hercules in the air. This aircraft was added to the inventory of the 401 Hikotai as the fifteenth aircraft. The C-130 Hercules is currently one of the most important tactical transport aircraft of the JASDF.

The second unit based on Komaki is the 404 Hikotai. This unit is also part of the 1TAG. The 404 Hikotai is equipped with the Boeing KC-767J strategic tanker. The unit currently has four of these tankers in use at Komaki Air Base. The 404 Hikotai of the JASDF is the first unit in the Air Force in history that is able to refuel other aircraft in the air. The unit is the youngest unit of the JASDF, as the squadron was only established on March 26, 2009, at Komaki Air Base. In the previous years, Japan was not entitled to own strategic tankers because of the military restrictions resulting from the Second World War. The first KC-767 tankers were operational in service at the unit from April 1, 2010. The Boeing KC-767 is a military strategic tanker and a strategic American-made transport aircraft. The aircraft was developed on the basis of the Boeing 767-200ER, which is a well-known aircraft in civil aviation for many airlines. The tanker was initially designated as KC-767A after the aircraft was initially selected by the United States Air Force to replace older KC-135E Stratotanker. The contract with the USAF was frozen in December 2003 and was later canceled due to corruption charges. The tanker was further developed for the Italian and Japanese air forces, which both ordered four tankers from Boeing. The financing of the development of the tanker was largely supported by Boeing. The company hoped that it would receive large orders from the USAF.

Boeing's revised the KC-767 proposal to the USAF and was selected for the KC-X program in February 2011 under the designation KC-46. In 2001, Japan had chosen the KC-767 at the expense of the Airbus A310 MRTT and signed a contract for the purchase in 2003. In June 2005, Japan's first aircraft arrived at the Boeing modification center in Wichita, Kansas. equipped with the tank equipment. The delivery of the first KC-767J for the JASDF was delayed by approximately two years due to development problems and the addition of the aircraft with FAA certification. The Japanese version of the tanker is only equipped with the flying boom system. From 2009 the planes are in the possession of the JASDF at 404 Hikotai. The tanker unit is sometimes referred to in English as the 404th Tactical Airlift Tanker Squadron. With the possession of these four tankers, a whole world opened up for the JASDF. They were suddenly able to move aircraft of the Japanese forces around the world. Among other things, this led to the JASDF tankers being able to fly two Kawasaki P-1 patrol aircraft to Fairford in 2015 for the largest military air show in the world. The deployment of the tankers also enabled Japanese aircraft to participate in exercises in Australia and the United States in the context of military cooperation. The tankers of the 404 Hikotai at Komaki Air Base will continue to play a very important role for the Japanese Air Force. Japanese combat aircraft can also stay in the air much longer with the help of the tankers.




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