The 601st Squadron (Japanese: 第601飛行隊, Hepburn: dai601hikoutai) is a squadron of the Airborne Early Warning Surveillance Group of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) based at Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

[1][2] It is equipped with Northrop Grumman E-2C/D Hawkeye aircraft.

[3] In the early 2010s the amount of air activity by China near Okinawa increased dramatically after Japan effectively nationalized the disputed Senkaku Islands, sparking a major backlash from China.

Beginning in 2012 E-2C aircraft of the squadron began deploying to Naha Air Base as required, and in 2014 603rd Squadron was officially formed[4][5] by taking around 130 personnel[6] and four of the squadron's 13 E-2C aircraft from Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture.

The marking is of a bat grasping two bolts of lightning.