The U.S. Marine Corps deployed Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 533, also known as the “Hawks,” an F-35B Lightning II squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, under the Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP) on September 5, 2026.
VMFA-533 joins Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, and will conduct aviation operations and maintain combat readiness throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
VMFA-533 will integrate as the new UDP squadron, replacing the current UDP squadron, VMFA-232.
The Unit Deployment Program provides continental U.S.-based units with experience operating in the Indo-Pacific through continuous and overlapping deployments to the region.
The Hawks will augment 1st Marine Aircraft Wing’s ability to provide combat-ready, task-organized aviation forces capable of operating from naval and expeditionary environments.
This enhances operational readiness, promotes regional stability, and demonstrates the United States’ enduring commitment to the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.
The mission of VMFA_533 is to conduct joint/combined aviation operations in order to support a Marine Air Ground Task Force commander’s Command and Control, intelligence, fires, maneuver, and force protection warfighting functions.
Deployments are usually approximately 6 months at a time, and we wish our Hawks the best and look forward to when they return to their families here in Beaufort.
