Ospreys In Japan Raise New Tempers Against US Military

A V-22 Osprey landing on a flight deck, possibly of a carrier or amphibious assault ship. In the top left is a departing Sea King helicopter, the aging craft which the new tilt-rotor will be replacing. Photo from www.dod.gov

Japan wants no part of America's "wonder plane," the V-22 Osprey.

An aircraft that can transform between a long-distance turboprop transport and a medium lift helicopter -- known as a tilt rotor -- the Osprey has long been pinpointed by the U.S. military as a major 21st-century replacement for its aging fleet of decades-old helicopters.

Opinion of U.S. troops rose in Japan last year after the Fukushima disaster. The dedication and professionalism of U.S. forces providing disaster assistance made a deep impression on the Japanese public, especially when compared to the lackluster performance of their own government.

But the Monday arrival of a dozen V-22s at a U.S. airbase in Iwakuni, on the western tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, sparked widespread opposition and anger, both from the public and the Japanese defense ministry. Activists gathered in about a dozen small boats to protest the temporary stationing of the aircraft in Iwakuni.

Although the Ospreys have already been unloaded from ships and assembled, their final destination is expected to be the ever-controversial Futenma Marine air base in southern Okinawa. Demonstrations from groups opposing the U.S. presence and the Osprey took place outside Futenma on Monday.

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A history of aircraft crashes, long resistance to U.S. basing and military friction with civilians, and staunch opposition from local governments, particularly focused on Okinawa, has created major disagreements between Tokyo and Washington over the status of U.S. forces deployed to Japan.

Futenma air base is located in a densely populated urban zone. In 2004, a CH-53 Sea Stallion (a heavy helicopter) crash-landed into an Okinawa International University building nearby, luckily resulting in no deaths. A string of accidents to the V-22, which entered service in 2007, has raised fears that similar incidents could occur again.

Last Friday, Japan's Vice Defense Minister Shu Watanabe told reporters, "If the U.S. forces the issue, it could become a long-term problem affecting the good relations between us."

Earlier In July, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Japanese press, "We will work closely with our Japanese partners to ensure that any American military equipment brought into Japan will meet the highest safety standards."

The U.S. has maintained that switching to the Osprey will improve the safety and performance of its aircraft. After all, the CH-46 Sea King helicopters it is replacing are from the 1960s.The current group of 12 Ospreys are meant to partially replace 24 aging Sea Kings slated for decommissioning.

Local Okinawan politicians point to Osprey crashes in April in Morocco (injuring five) and in June in Florida (killing two) as examples of the plane's continued troubles.

The U.S. military says that the Osprey has already logged 150,000 flight hours. For every 100,000 flight hours, there are fewer than two accidents, far below the average of almost 2.5 for other Marines aircraft.

'Vital' To The Asia-Pacific?

The U.S. Embassy in Japan released a press statement on Monday, calling the V-22's arrival in Futenma a necessary and "vital component in fulfilling the United States' commitment to provide for the defense of Japan and to help maintain peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region."

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/365949/20120723/osprey-futenma-japan.htm

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