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After 48 years, Japan’s days of flying F-4 Phantom II fighters flying in a combat role formally came to an end today, marked by a send-off event for the jets. The aircraft were from 301 Hikotai, the country’s Japan’s last combat unit equipped with the type, and the remaining F-4EJs will, in the future, only be flown by the country’s Air Development and Test Wing.

The ceremony to mark the end of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) operating the F-4EJ took place at Hyakuri Air Base, 301 Hikotai’s home base, in Ibaraki Prefecture, 50 miles northeast of Tokyo. Representatives from the base, various squadron commanders, as well as officials representing the wider JASDF attended the event.

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Japan’s Phantom story began in 1968 when the McDonnell Douglas type was selected for the JASDF, an order being placed for 140 F-4EJ versions, based on the U.S. Air Force’s then-standard F-4E. The production effort was of considerable significance for Japan’s aerospace industry, with all but the first two F-4EJs being completed under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). 

Meanwhile, the initial pair from the production line in St Louis, Missouri, touched down in Japan on July 25, 1971. The first Phantoms to be based at Hyakuri arrived there in 1972 and were assigned to 301 Hikotai, which was declared fully operational the following year.