The Australian Government has approved the storage and maintenance of United States Marine Corps (USMC) MV-22 Osprey Aircraft in Australia.
Director-General Force Posture Initiatives Branch, Brigadier Mick Say, said the maintenance and prepositioning of the MV-22s in Australia will advance force posture cooperation with the US.
“For more than a decade, cooperation between Australia and the US, under the Force Posture Agreement, has enhanced our capacity to deter coercion and maintain a secure and stable Indo-Pacific,” Brigadier Say said.
The annual Marine Rotational Force - Darwin (MRF-D) rotations have used MV-22 Ospreys for almost a decade. These tilt-rotor aircraft provide a unique vertical take-off and landing capability for rapid troop transport and logistics resupply across Australia’s north.
“The storage of MV-22 Ospreys in Australia, between annual MRF-D rotations is consistent with the US Force Posture Agreement, and represents the continuing development of a deeper relationship with the United States," Brigadier Say stated.
Since the first rotation in 2012, the MRF-D has expanded from an initial 200 Marines to now more than ten times that size, with up to 2,500 Marines deployed to Australia from April to September for the annual rotation.
Operating primarily out of Darwin and the northern Australian training areas, the USMC have used MV-22 aircraft to help maintain a secure and resilient region, strengthen interoperability between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the USMC, and provide a platform for USMC engagement with partners across the Indo-Pacific.
At the conclusion of this year’s 14th MRF-D rotation, MV-22 aircraft will remain behind in Australia. This will, according to Defence, increase availability of the aircraft for training, significantly reduce transportation costs, and remove the import-related impost on Australian border agencies.