Marine Corps V-22s arrive in Japan
23 July 2012 - 14:33 by Tony Osborne in London
The controversial deployment of MV-22 Ospreys to Japan has begun with the arrival of the first 12 aircraft in country.
The tiltrotor aircraft arrived by cargo ship into Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on 23 July, and their offload was closely co-ordinated with the Japanese government.
The basing of the Osprey in Japan has been a highly controversial subject and the arrival of the aircraft was met by protests from people concerned by the aircraft's safety record following recent crashes of the type in the United States and in Morocco.
The Marines Corps says that the MV-22 Ospreys will not conduct functional check flights until the results of safety investigations are presented to the Government of Japan and the safety of flight operations is confirmed.
Following those safety confirmation and functional check flights, the Ospreys will fly to their new home at MCAS Futenma where the aircraft will join tiltrotor squadron, HMM-265.
The Marine Corps want the Ospreys in Japan as part of the ongoing modernisation of its rotary-wing fleet, the Ospreys replacing increasingly elderly CH-46 Sea Knights. A second squadron of 12 aircraft is scheduled to arrive at MCAS Futenma during the summer of 2013.