Tokyo plans to deploy 17 Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft at Saga Airport on Kyushu island during the next five years starting from fiscal year 2015, according to Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.
Onodera's first public disclosure of the expected deployment site for the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF)-operated Ospreys came as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is preparing a budget request for FY15 that includes funds to buy five MV-22s.
Onodera said the MoD is looking into the possibility of the SDF sharing Saga Airport with civilian airlines. "Considering future maintenance and training, it will be appropriate to deploy them in one place," he told reporters on 20 July.
Onodera said Saga Airport was selected because the facility is on the coast and is located near Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, where the GSDF's Western Army Infantry Regiment will base a 3,000-strong amphibious force that is being trained to defend remote islands.
Japan plans to procure 17 Ospreys for the GSDF by FY 2018, according to the Mid-Term Defense Programme (FY 2014/18) adopted by the cabinet in December 2013.
Onodera said he had told Saga Governor Yasushi Furukawa of the deployment plan on 17 July and said Parliamentary Senior Vice Defence Minister Ryota Takeda would visit Saga Prefecture on 22 July to explain the plan and ask for local support.
janes
Nhật Bản lên kế hoạch mua 17 máy bay MV-22 Osprey của Bell-Boeing. Mặc dù MV-22 đã từng tham chiến và phục vụ tại chiến trường Afgahnistan và Iraq nhưng đây cũng là thương vụ xuất khẩu đầu tiên của loại máy bay này. Trước đó, tại căn cứ không quân của Mỹ ở đảo Okinawa Nhật Bản Mỹ cũng triển khai MV-22 để phục vụ các hoạt động thường trực.
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