5 Ospreys to Be Deployed at U.S Base in Tokyo Suburbs in Oct.

August 22, 2018

Tokyo- Five CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft of the U.S. Air Force will be deployed at the U.S. military's Yokota base in western Tokyo suburbs Oct. 1, Japan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

It will be the first Osprey deployment to a U.S. base in Japan outside the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

According to the ministry, a total of 10 CV-22 Ospreys and some 450 personnel are set to be deployed at the Yokota base by around 2024.

An Osprey believed to be among the five arrived at the base in April this year. It made an emergency landing at Amami Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in June due to engine trouble.

Initially, the U.S. military planned to deploy three Ospreys to the Yokota base in the second half of 2017, but the plan was put back to 2019 or 2020.

Now, the U.S. military has moved up the deployment schedule, apparently taking into account the East Asian situation, informed sources said.

The Air Force uses CV-22 Ospreys in special operations. They are expected to be used under tougher conditions than the Marine Corps' MV-22 Ospreys stationed at its Futenma base in Okinawa.

While the basic performance of the two models is the same, CV-22 Ospreys are equipped with radars for low-altitude flights at night. Jiji Press