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A U.S. Air Force military transport aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at a Japanese air base after its warning light came on, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
The V-22 Osprey landed safely at Hamamatsu Air Base in Shizuoka Prefecture, with no reports of injuries or damage.
The Osprey was reported to be based at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, though officials did not provide details about its flight route or mission.
Local authorities in Shizuoka stated that they had requested the U.S. Forces in Japan to take necessary measures to investigate the incident and prevent similar situations in the future.
The incident has renewed concerns about the safety record of the Osprey in Japan. In November 2023, a crash involving the same aircraft type led to the deaths of eight U.S. service members.
Following that accident, the fleet of V-22 Ospreys stationed in Japan was temporarily grounded. In December 2023, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that hundreds of these aircraft had been taken out of service across the country.
The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter but fly like a conventional airplane.
While this dual capability gives it unique operational advantages, the aircraft has been involved in multiple fatal accidents both in Japan and abroad, contributing to ongoing public unease over its deployment in the region.
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