Govt eyeing Osprey for isles’ defense
August 21, 2013
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The government is expected to adopt the U.S. military’s Osprey transport aircraft for the Self-Defense Forces as early as fiscal 2015, government officials said Tuesday.
The introduction of the tilt-rotor aircraft is aimed at strengthening the defense of remote islands, including the Nansei Islands, the officials said. The Defense Ministry will include about ¥100 million for related research and study expenses in its budget request for the next fiscal year and will seek to coordinate views about where to deploy the aircraft. The fiscal 2014 budget requests must be submitted by the end of this month.
The ministry is considering newly creating an amphibious unit, which would be tasked with defending remote islands, within the SDF. It wants to utilize the Osprey to transport members and equipment of the unit, according to the officials.
The government plans to incorporate the introduction of the Osprey in fiscal 2015 in the National Defense Program Guidelines it will compile at the end of this year and in the midterm defense buildup program, which outlines the nation’s defense buildup plan for the next five years.
A total of ¥8 million was earmarked for Osprey-related research and study expenses in fiscal 2013. The money was used mainly for research activities outsourced to third parties in fiscal 2013. In fiscal 2014, the government plans to significantly increase the appropriation and ask the United States to provide more information about the Osprey’s operation.
According to the officials, the government is considering a plan to include the introduction of about 20 Osprey aircraft in the midterm defense build-up program. However, because the aircraft cost as much as ¥10 billion each, the government will carefully discuss how many to introduce.
The Osprey is currently deployed at Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, by the U.S. Marine Corps, but local residents strongly oppose the deployment due to safety concerns.
The government plans to deploy the Osprey after providing information about the safety of the aircraft to the local residents.
The Osprey has a seating capacity of 24 as used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. military has used the aircraft in rescue missions after natural disasters, including a strong earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
Given the possibility that a megaquake of about magnitude-9 may strike Japan in the future, the ministry is discussing using the Osprey for relief and other activities in the wake of a major natural disaster, the officials said.
In its proposals for the National Defense Program Guidelines that the Liberal Democratic Party made in May, the party called for the introduction of the Osprey, saying, “It [the Osprey] has good mobility and can travel a long distance in a short time.”
Considered a state-of-the-art transport aircraft, the Osprey can take off and land like a helicopter but also fly like a plane. Its fixed wings make it capable of flying at high speeds for long distances. There are two types of the Osprey aircraft—the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey used for assault landing and transportation, and the U.S. Air Force’s CV-22 Osprey used for special operations.
Govt eyeing Osprey for isles? defense - The Japan News