Jul 11 (NHK) - An Osprey transport aircraft has arrived at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, for temporary deployment by the Ground Self-Defense Force, or GSDF.
The Osprey is one of two that have undergone maintenance at US Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan's western prefecture of Yamaguchi since its arrival in May.
The craft landed at the camp shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday, after a four-day delay due to bad weather.
The GSDF says it will conduct detailed checks of the Ospreys' fuselages over about a month before conducting ground tests on their engines.
The Defense Ministry says the GSDF will start flights of the craft as early as August, but that it may start with basic, on-base training and expand the flight area in phases, taking into account strong local concerns about the aircraft's safety.
The ministry hopes to end the provisional deployment within five years and station a total of 17 Ospreys at an airport in Saga, southwestern Japan, as originally planned.
It is not known when the ministry will be able to deploy the aircraft in Saga. Negotiations with landowners are needed, and a timeframe for facility construction has yet to be set.
People living in a densely populated residential area near another GSDF camp where the Ospreys are expected to fly to have expressed concerns.
Source: ANNnewsCH
