Story highlights US advanced airborne early warning and control aircraft coming to Iwakuni base

Planes being deployed as Japan-China tensions increasing

(CNN) The US Navy is sending aircraft equipped with advanced radar that can detect stealth fighters to Japan as China makes progress with its own radar-evading jets.

The E-2D Advance Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft will deploy to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in February, according to a statement Thursday from US Navy Japan.

Deployment of the Advanced Hawkeyes is part of "a plan to put the most advanced and capable units forward in order to support the United States' commitment to the defense of Japan and the security and stability of the region," the US Navy statement said.

The E-2D is equipped with the A/N-APY radar system, which manufacturer Lockheed Martin says has the power to "see smaller targets -- and more of them -- at a greater range, particularly in coastal regions and over land."

Defense journals say the A/N-APY radar can detect stealth aircraft that might evade older radar systems.