Japan begins Osprey deployment in southwestern prefecture
The ministry plans to transfer all 17 Ospreys that are temporarily stationed at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, to the new facility built west of Kyushu Saga International Airport.
The first Osprey aircraft arrived at Camp Saga on Wednesday morning after making a stopover at another camp in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The ministry said the remaining 16 Ospreys will be transferred to the new camp one by one through mid-August.
Another Osprey left Camp Kisarazu on Wednesday morning and headed to the camp in Kumamoto Prefecture for a stopover.
The Osprey aircraft has been involved in a series of major accidents since US forces began operating it in 2007.
In 2023, a US military Osprey crashed off the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, killing all eight personnel on board.
Ministry officials said that they will place top priority on safety as deployment moves forward.
The Defense Ministry said the deployment of the Ospreys to Saga Prefecture is intended to boost defenses in Japan's southwestern region amid increasingly assertive maritime activities by Chinese forces.
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