The U.S. military has informed Tokyo it will resume transferring MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Okinawa this week, after the fatal crash of a U.S. Air Force chopper in the prefecture last week saw the shipments suspended, a government source said.
Ten tilt-rotor Ospreys are set to be sent from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, where they will join two MV-22s that arrived at the base earlier this month, as well as 12 others that were deployed last summer, the source said Friday.
The Osprey transfer was suspended following the crash of an HH-60 rescue helicopter Monday at U.S. Marine Corps Camp Hansen on Okinawa Island.
The U.S. military hopes to resume the MV-22 transfer as early as Monday, the source said, but this plan could be delayed by stiff local opposition because of the hybrid aircraft's mixed safety record.