The 201st Tactical Fighter Squadron () is a squadron of the 2nd Air Wing of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

(JASDF) based at

Chitose Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in Chitose, Hokkaidō, adjacent to New Chitose Airport. It is the JASDF's primary base in northern Japan and tasked with monitoring Japan's maritime borders with Russia. It was also Hokkaidō's ...

, in

Hokkaido Prefecture is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, Japan. It is equipped with

Mitsubishi F-15J/DJ The McDonnell Douglas - Mitsubishi F-15J/DJ Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather Fighter aircraft, air superiority fighter based on the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in use by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The F-15J was produced under ...

and

Kawasaki T-4 The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic ...

aircraft. Thompson, Pau
JASDF – Order of Battle July 1, 2017
''J-HangarSpace'' Retrieved September 21, 2017 Thompson, Pau
JASDF – Squadron Histories
''J-HangarSpace'' Retrieved September 21, 2017

History

The squadron was formed at Chitose Air Base at Hokkaido in March 1963 as part of the 2nd Air Wing. Initially the squadron was responsible for training and interception duties, but later it focused exclusively on interception. The squadron was disbanded in 1974, when it was replaced by the 302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ. Until the 1980s JASDF fighter squadron numbers were linked to the type of aircraft they operated. The 200-series squadrons were F-104 squadrons and the 300-squadrons were F-4EJ squadrons. With the intensification of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

in the 1980s the squadron was re-formed and equipped with F-15s.

Tail markings

During the squadron's F-104 era the tail marking was a "201". After the squadron was re-formed with the F-15 the tail marking became a

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

. Brown bears are common in Hokkaido.

Aircraft operated

Fighter aircraft

* Lockheed F-104J/DJ Starfighter (1963–1974) *

Mitsubishi F-15J The McDonnell Douglas - Mitsubishi F-15J/DJ Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter based on the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in use by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The F-15J was produced under license by Mitsubi ...

(1986–present)

Liaison aircraft

* Lockheed T-33A (1963–1974) (1986–1994) *

(1992–present)

In popular culture

The squadron appeared in the 1990 film '' Best Guy''.

References

{{Japan Air Self-Defense Force Units of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force