MV-22 Osprey aircraft with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 are parked on the tarmac at sunset after being unloaded from the cargo ship Green Ridge at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni harbor here July 23, 2012. This marks the first MV-22 Osprey aircraft deployment to Japan and a milestone in the Marine Corps' process of replacing CH-46E helicopters with the MV-22 Osprey, a highly-capable, tilt-rotor aircraft which combines the vertical capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. The MV-22 aircraft significantly strengthens U.S. ability to provide for the defense of Japan, to perform humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations and to fulfill other alliance roles. The MV-22 has successfully assisted in HA/DR operations in Haiti, participated in the recovery of a downed U.S. pilot in Libya, supported combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and has conducted multiple Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments.