By SATOSHI OKUMURA/ Staff Writer
July 9, 2025 at 18:26 JST
SAGA—As part of the nation's "southwest shift" to strengthen defense of remote islands, the deployment of the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Osprey transport aircraft at Saga Airport has begun.
At around 10:20 a.m. on July 9, an Osprey landed on the airport runway and arrived at the GSDF Camp Saga, which was built adjacent to the airport, located in the capital of Saga Prefecture.
An opening ceremony for Camp Saga was held after the Osprey's arrival.
“Camp Saga, located in northern Kyushu, where many major units involved in amphibious operations are located, is strategically extremely important,” Masayoshi Arai, commanding general of the GSDF Western Army, said at the ceremony.
Arai also called on the assembled personnel to “take all possible measures as a camp” for the operation of the Osprey, including safety management, accident prevention and noise control.
By mid-August, all 17 of the tilt-rotor aircraft will be transferred from Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, where they have been temporarily stationed, to Camp Saga.
On July 6, four of the 17 aircraft were moved to the GSDF Vice Camp Takayubaru in Kumamoto Prefecture from Camp Kisarazu. The one arriving at Camp Saga on July 9 was one of the four Osprey.
In the future, about 50 helicopters from the GSDF Camp Metabaru in Saga Prefecture are also planned to be relocated to Camp Saga.
A total of 17,000 takeoffs and landings are expected per year, including at night.
The plan for the deployment of Osprey to Saga was announced in 2014 and took about 10 years to implement.
During this time, coordination with the local community was difficult as the deployment faced stiff local opposition. The Defense Ministry deployed the Osprey to Kisarazu under the condition that they would be deployed for a maximum of five years, and July 9 was the deadline.
The deployment is part of the effort to strengthen the defense of the Nansei Islands.
The headquarters will be located at Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, and is expected to operate in unison with the amphibious task force, which will be responsible for the defense of the remote islands.
It is expected that the Osprey will be in full-scale operation in Kyushu and the Nansei Islands.
In Japan, about 30 Osprey aircraft are deployed at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, and U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Due to accidents and problems in Japan and abroad, Osprey flights have been repeatedly suspended and resumed in recent years, raising concerns about the safety of the aircraft, including at deployment sites.
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A Ground Self-Defense Force Osprey transport aircraft arrives at Saga Airport in Saga on July 9. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
