Nonstop flight route between Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,826 miles (or 12,594 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Keesler Air Force Base and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Keesler Air Force Base and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):

• When the War Department activated Keesler Field in June 1941, not only was Keesler getting a technical training center, but it would be getting one of the Army's newest replacement, or basic training centers.
• Keesler continued to focus upon specialized training in B-24 maintenance until mid-1944.
• During the early 1960s, Keesler lost many of its airborne training courses but Keesler still remained the largest training base throughout the 1970s.
• In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".
• The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
• During the early 1980s Keesler's air traffic control program garnered publicity - when the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job in August 1981.
• Other organizations assigned to Keesler AFB include the 45th Airlift Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.
• Driven by deep defense budget cuts, base closures following the end of the Cold War forced an end to technical training at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois and Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado when those bases were closed by BRAC action.
• The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The 81 TW is responsible for the technical training of airmen in select skill areas immediately following their completion of basic training as well as providing additional or recurrent training they will need for upcoming assignments.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for SEVENTH Fleet and supporting units, U.S.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.