An Osprey transport aircraft of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) is expected to use a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture for the first time in an upcoming exercise with the U.S. side, sources said Thursday.
As part of the Resolute Dragon exercise between the GSDF and the U.S. Marine Corps from June 20 to June 30, the two sides are considering a plan for a GSDF V-22 Osprey to airlift a mock patient from Miyako Island in Okinawa to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan in the main island of the prefecture, the sources said.
It will also be the first time for a GSDF Osprey to land on Miyako Island.
The exercise, assuming the defense of remote islands, is slated to take place at Self-Defense Forces camps in Okinawa and the Kyushu region as well as U.S. bases including the Futenma air station.
On Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, a GSDF Osprey and U.S. military aircraft will conduct training on goods transportation.
A GSDF Osprey was slated to fly to Okinawa during a joint exercise between Japan and the United States in February and March. However,?the plan was canceled as the Okinawa Prefectural Government in January asked the Defense Ministry¡¯s Okinawa Defense Bureau to refrain from Osprey use in the drill after a GSDF V-22 Osprey lost balance and accidentally touched the ground when taking off from the GSDF camp on Okinawa¡¯s Yonaguni Island during a Japan-U.S. joint exercise in October 2024.
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