Japan's Ministry of Defense has formally asked the United States Air Force (USAF) to suspend operations with the V-22 Osprey convertiplane in the country. The request comes after a fatal accident with a special operations MV-22, last Wednesday (29).
The aircraft crashed into the sea, south of the country, with eight crew . The death of one of the crew was confirmed, while Japanese and American authorities continue to search for the other crew. Civil and military aircraft and vessels from the USA and Japan are in the area of the accident.
Speaking to parliament on Thursday (30), Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he had asked the US military to stop flying the Osprey over Japanese territory while the causes of the accident were investigated.
“The occurrence of this accident brings great anxiety to people in the region. We are calling on the US to fly Ospreys deployed to Japan only after these flights are confirmed to be safe.”, Kihara told parliamentarians. In addition to the minister's statement, the Japanese government sent a request to the USA, requesting that the aircraft only fly in case of emergency.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) itself grounded its V-22s shortly after the crash, pending results of preliminary investigations. Even after requests from the Japanese government, the USAF continued to fly the aircraft normally.
“We are committed to safety. There is an investigation that is currently determining and investigating what exactly happened to this aircraft and the accident. If this investigation produces [any] results that require the department to change something about the Osprey or take additional action, we will certainly do so.”, said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
This is not the first time that the V-22s have been the target of criticism in Japan. In May 2021, residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area formally complained about aircraft overflights, also mentioning that they were flying low and with machine guns pointed at the ground, towards the houses.
In production since 1988, the Osprey is operated by the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. Around 400 units have already been manufactured.
Although versatile, the V-22 is also recognized for its high number of accidents and problematic maintenance. This is the second fatal accident involving the model in 2023 alone: in August, the crash of a USMC MV-22 in Australia killed three soldiers, of the 23 who were on board. In June last year, another five Marines lost their lives in an Osprey accident in California.
In Japan, CV-22s are operated by the USAF's 21st Special Operations Squadron from Yokota Air Base. The unit specializes in infiltration and exfiltration missions of special troops in enemy terrain, day or night, as well as transport, rescue, resupply and air .
