Pictures Show US Combat Jets Training at Strategic Pacific Island

United States fighter jets have been conducting training exercises at a strategic island in the Western Pacific Ocean, where a World War II airfield is being reclaimed.

Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Marine Corps for comment by email.

Why It Matters

The training exercises were conducted on the island of Tinian, which is one of the three principal islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, a group of islets in the Western Pacific Ocean that form the westernmost territory of the United States. Tinian is less than 40 square miles.

The island was used to launch U.S. bomber raids on Japan during World War II, including the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. North Field, one of two airfields on the island, was then the largest in the world. It is being brought back to life by the U.S. Air Force after lying unused for years.

Tinian is part of the second island chain under a U.S. defense concept, seeking to contain the Chinese military. It is 1,500-1,700 miles from the Taiwan Strait as well as the East and South China Seas, and is an ideal staging area for U.S. military power.

What To Know

According to photos released by the U.S. Marine Corps, two F-35B Lightning II fighter jets, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, arrived at Tinian on Thursday for a training program. The aircraft were seen being fueled on the island.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 is under the command of the Marine Aircraft Group 12, which provides aircraft for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

It was not clear which airfield was used by the fighter aircraft. In addition to North Field, which has four 8,500-foot runways that are being cleared of overgrowth, the island’s West Field is part of the modern-day Tinian International Airport and a divert airfield.

Aircraft from the squadron, which is permanently deployed to Japan, landed on the island of Guam, located 100 miles to the south of Tinian, on January 27 to hone “tactical proficiency” and conduct flying missions in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Prior to the arrival of the aircraft on Tinian, a group of U.S. Marines established a “forward arming and refueling point,” which can be used without the need for airfield infrastructure to sustain aircraft operations in contested environments.

The training mission on Tinian came after the Pentagon released an assessment report on Chinese military power in December 2024, warning the number of China’s medium-range ballistic missiles, capable of hitting U.S. military bases in Japan, has increased by 300 to 1,300.

What People Are Saying

The U.S. Marine Corps said: “This iteration of the [Aviation Training Relocation] Program provided [Marine Aircraft Group 12] squadrons the opportunity to sharpen their tactical proficiency and perform flight operations in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., previously told Newsweek: “China strongly opposes the U.S. strengthening forward deployments in the Asia-Pacific to seek unilateral military advantage. We urge the U.S. to earnestly respect other countries’ security concerns and stop undermining peace and stability in the region.”

What Happens Next

The U.S. military is likely to expand its flight operations from Tinian, which will ensure it can fulfill missions if access to other Western Pacific locations is limited or unavailable.