The U.S. Marine Corps will land MV-22 Osprey aircraft on the Maritime Self-Defence Force helicoper destroyer Hyuga on Friday at Naval Base San Diego, the first time the U.S. will land the hybrid transports on a Japanese ship, the marines said.

The exercise is one of the most highly anticipated events of Dawn Blitz 2013, a series of drills in Southern California involving the U.S. military and forces from Japan, Canada and New Zealand to enhance their amphibious capabilities.

Capt. Akihiko Tanabe, the Hyuga's skipper, said there are certain accommodations the ship and crew will have to make because of the large wingspan of the tilt-rotor Osprey compared with the helicopters that normally land on the vessel's flight deck.