Japan received the second batch of American Bell Boeing V-22В Osprey tiltrotors. The equipment arrived by sea at the Iwakuni naval base in Yamaguchi prefecture.
According to “Warspot” with reference to Defense Flash News, in the second batch, five convertiplanes arrived in Japan. The first batch of the first two V-22B Osprey arrived by sea in May last year, also at the Iwakuni naval base. Japan-supplied tiltrotors, designated V-22B Block C, are export analogues of the MV-22B transport and landing vehicles for the US Marine Corps.
In May 2015 of the year the United States approved the sale of Japan through the intergovernmental military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 17 tiltroplanes totaling 3 billion. dollars, however, the Japanese government has so far paid only 13 machines, transferring funds to 2015 year for five convertiplanes, and 2016 and 2017 eight more years.
As part of the Japanese army aviation, V-22B Osprey tiltrotors will be part of the new aviation unit, based at Saga Airfield in Kyushu. Convertoplanes are planned to be used primarily for interaction with the amphibious rapid deployment brigade stationed in Sasebo. (Marines).
The tasks of the new unit include the protection of remote islands in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands (Chinese name Diaoyu Dao), being the subject of a territorial dispute between Japan and China.
