Japan Osprey fleet grounded

JAPAN’S fleet of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft have been grounded following an incident involving one of the aircraft during take off while conducting military drills with American troops.

Operated by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces (JGSDF), an Osprey from the 1st Helicopter Brigade taking part in Exercise Keen Sword 25 at Camp Yonaguni suffered damages during an attempt to lift off the ground where the aircraft became unstable and swayed from side to side.

The lower portion of the left wing was then damaged after making contact with the tarmac and landed immediately after.During the incident, the Osprey was carrying 16 personnel onboard including three US Marines but no passengers were injured.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that the incident was being investigated and that the entire fleet of around 14 airframes would be grounded.

Japanese and American Ospreys were previously grounded between December 2023 and March 2024 following a deadly crash of a US Air Force Osprey in November that killed all eight crew members.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:NARA)