TOKYO: The US Air Force has abandoned its plans to have its CV-22 Osprey transport aircraft participate in the Resolute Dragon Japan-US joint exercises in the Kyushu southwestern Japan region, Japanese Defense Ministry officials said Wednesday.

About two CV-22s from the US Air Force’s Yokota Air Force in Tokyo were scheduled to take part in the exercises. But the US military has told the Japanese ministry that they would not participate for operational reasons, the officials said.

A CV-22 Osprey crashed off the island of Yakushima in Kyushu’s Kagoshima Prefecture in November last year, leaving eight crew members dead.

Ospreys from the US Marine Corps and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force will take part in the exercises set to start Sunday to train for defending remote islands in southwestern Japan.

JIJI Press