Some 10 Ospreys of the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps will participate in one of the biggest joint drills amid lingering concerns over the tilt-rotor aircraft's safety.
According to Defense Ministry officials and other sources, around eight Marine Corps and two GSDF Ospreys are scheduled to take part in the Resolute Dragon 24 exercise, set to be held from July 28 in Kyushu and Okinawa.
Both Japanese and U.S. Ospreys were grounded after a U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture in November last year, killing all eight people on board.