The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has taken delivery of its second Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
The aircraft, which is one of two Ospreys that arrived at US Marine Corps (USMC) Air Station Iwakuni in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture on 8 May, was flown by a JGSDF pilot to Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture on 16 July: six days after the service received the first such platform.
The JGSDF’s second Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft is seen here shortly after arriving at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture on 16 July. (JGSDF)
These two aircraft, which bear serial numbers ‘91701’ and ‘91705’, are part of an initial five MV-22B Block C Ospreys ordered by Tokyo in mid-2015 for USD332.5 million.
Following the arrival of the first Osprey, a JGSDF spokesperson had told Janes that Tokyo plans to deploy a total of 17 of these aircraft at Camp Kisarazu by the end of fiscal year 2021 for about five years, after which the aircraft are expected to be deployed to a JGSDF base at Saga Airport on Kyushu Island that has yet to be built.
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