The 603rd Squadron (第603飛行隊, dai-roku-zero-san-hikoutai) is a squadron of the Airborne Early Warning Surveillance Group of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) based at Naha Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
Beginning in 2012 E-2C aircraft began deploying to Naha air base, and in 2014 the squadron was officially formed.
[4][5] The unit was formed by taking around 130 personnel[6] and four of the JASDF's 13 E-2C aircraft from 601st Squadron at Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture.
[7][8][9][10] On April 12, 2015 one of the squadron's aircraft made an emergency landing at Kadena Air Base due to electrical problems.
The marking is of a bat grasping lightning bolts, retained from the aircraft's time with the 601st Squadron.