MV-22 Osprey, whose name sticks out as an offer for defense equipment in the midst of a pandemic season that has not yet ended. Instead of continuing the news, Osprey’s offer for Indonesia seemed like a passing wind. But it is different in Japan, the country that ordered the MV-22 Osprey in 2015, was reported to have operated the Osprey flight on November 6, making Japan the second country in the US to operate the Osprey.
Quoted from Janes.com (11/16/2020), it was stated that the first operational flight of the MV-22 Osprey took place from Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, where previously an inauguration ceremony was held on November 3, marking the activation of Japan’s V-22 program. As the operator of the MV-22 Osprey is the Japanese army, the Transportation Aviation Group of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
The composition of the Japanese Army MV-22 Osprey flight consists of two units, where the first helicopter unit (JG-1701) arrived on May 8 and the second unit (JG-1705) was received on July 16. Both were sent from the US by sea. Total Japan will receive five MV-22B Osprey Block C units in contracts signed through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in mid-2015 with a value of US$332.5 million.
The Japanese government has officially approved the plan to procure 17 units of the MV-22B Osprey. For Japan, the Osprey is considered to have superior performance compared to the existing helicopter fleet, with advantages in speed, payload and range.
Since 2016, JGSDF pilots and ground crew have been training with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron (VMMT) 204 and Navy Aviation Technical Training Unit at MCAS New River.
Apart from the Japanese Army, the V-22 plays an important role in three dimensions, namely the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. For the US Special Operations Forces, the CV-22 is used to support remote infiltration, exfiltration and supply missions. Meanwhile for the Marine Corps, the MV-22B is used to provide transportation for attack support for combat troops, supplies and equipment during expeditions, as well as joint operations. As for the US Navy, the CMV-22B is a replacement aircraft for onboard delivery on aircraft carriers, whose status is currently still in the trial stage.
