Okinawa
Japanese island prefecture and the main hub of US military forces in Japan
Okinawa is the Japanese island prefecture where, in 1945, US radar picket destroyers took heavy losses warning the fleet of kamikaze attacks. It holds about 70% of the land used solely by US forces in Japan, and the picket job now has an uncrewed successor.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for Okinawa
Mentioned in: Kraken trials a Saab radar picket boat
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
The radar picket earned its reputation off Okinawa. In 1945 the US Navy posted destroyers off the island to give Early Warning of kamikaze attacks, and the pickets, the first ships the attackers found, took heavy losses. Kraken Technology Group's 8.4m uncrewed picket boat, SEA-trialled on 5 and 6 October 2026 with a Saab UK Giraffe 1X radar, does the same job with no crew to lose.
The Battle of Okinawa ran from 1 April to 22 June 1945. About 12,500 Americans and 94,136 Japanese servicemen died, with 40,000 to 150,000 civilian deaths. Japan flew 1,465 kamikaze aircraft in mass attacks from Kyushu between 6 April and 22 June; Russia launched 9,616 kamikaze drones at Ukraine on the single day of 17 March 2026.
The US returned the islands to Japan on 15 May 1972. The prefecture, with 1,468,220 people in October 2025 and its capital at Naha, covers 0.6% of Japan's land yet holds about 70% of the land used solely by US forces in Japan. Its garrison includes the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, ordered from Okinawa to the Middle East in March 2026.