Photo/Illutration An SH60K patrol helicopter on the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Izumo off Darwin, Australia, on Aug. 15, 2023 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

When the airframes of two missing Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) helicopters were detected on the Pacific Ocean seabed at a depth of about 5,500 meters in July 2024, it seemed impossible to salvage the wreckage.

Still, the MSDF was adamant about recovering the wreckage even though the cause of the collision had already been determined.

The MSDF wanted to signal that it would never turn its back on its own members as well as prevent its military secrets from falling into the wrong hands.

With the help of the U.S. Navy, the MSDF conducted a salvage operation and recovered the airframes as well as several bodies last month at a cost of around $10 million (1.5 billion yen).

It is now working to identify the corpses.

The accident occurred off the Izu island chain, south of Tokyo, on the night of April 20 last year. The two helicopters collided in mid-air during a training exercise to detect submarines.

A single body was recovered immediately afterward, but the other seven crew members remained missing and were presumed dead.

The airframes lay deep on the ocean floor, far beyond the MSDF’s capabilities to retrieve them.

The location of the wreckage was identified in July by an oceanographic research ship, although it is unusual for vessels of that nature to be deployed in search operations.

Lying at a depth of 5,500 meters, it was initially thought there was no way to salvage the aircraft.

“A depth of more than 5,000 meters is unknown territory,” said a senior MSDF member. “It seems like the distance between the ground and the moon.”

An investigation into the accident had already been completed. Based on an analysis of the flight data recorders and the flight trajectories of the helicopters, it was determined that they collided due to a failure to keep a proper lookout and other factors.

SENDING A MESSAGE

Still, the MSDF sought ways to recover the aircraft.

“We wanted to avoid sending a message that we abandoned our own members,” said a senior Defense Ministry official.

The Self-Defense Forces have been plagued by a recruitment shortage in recent years.

Redressing the shortfall of around 20,000 troop members has become a pressing issue.

The SDF failed dismally to meet its recruiting quota in fiscal 2023 with the figure sinking to a record low 50.8 percent of its target.

As long as there was a chance that bodies could be found inside and outside the helicopters, “We faced the prospect of losing even more applicants if we didn’t push ourselves to salvage them and show that we don’t abandon our own members,” the official added.

FULL OF MILITARY SECRETS

There was also concern about security risks.

The two aircraft were patrol helicopters used for antisubmarine warfare, one of most important MSDF missions.

Because the choppers sank in the high seas, the military secrets could have been lost if the airframes were salvaged by another country.

“It would have been a problem if the airframes were left abandoned and we allowed their secrets to become exposed,” said another senior Defense Ministry official.

Given the circumstances, the MSDF sought advice from the U.S. Navy and learned about a salvage vessel outside Japan that had recovered a helicopter from a depth of about 5,800 meters.

The MSDF contracted with the U.S. Navy in late 2024 through a Foreign Military Sales agreement to conduct the salvage operation.

The vessel arrived at the site on March 8, deploying a remotely operated vehicle to attach wires to the airframes. They were lifted by a crane onto the vessel by March 12.

Several bodies were also retrieved at the time and handed over to the MSDF.

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