The Defense Ministry is arranging demonstration flights by Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft near Saga airport on Nov. 8 to give the local government the opportunity to assess the proposed deployment of the aircraft at the site, a prefectural official said Friday.
The ministry and the U.S. military scheduled the event after Saga Gov. Yoshinori Yamaguchi asked Defense Minister Tomomi Inada in September to conduct a demonstration to check on noise levels of the aircraft, which will be adopted by the Ground Self-Defense Forces.
Osprey aircraft operated by the U.S. military will be used in the demonstration.
The Defense Ministry has been asking the prefectural government and airport managers to accept the deployment of Ospreys from around April 2019, which they are considering.