Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM-262) off-load 12 MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft at the port facility July 30 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan. The aircraft arrived by commercial cargo ship, and are scheduled to fly to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan, where they will be assigned to HMM-262. The 12 aircraft will be inspected and prepared for flight operations to Okinawa at the beginning of August, completing the one-to-one CH-46E Sea Knight Helicopter replacement. The Osprey is a highly capable aircraft with an excellent operational safety record. The aircraft combines the vertical-takeoff capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. The Osprey can fly twice as fast, carry three times the payload, and fly four times farther than the older CH-46E. Its capabilities significantly benefit the U.S.-Japan alliance, strengthen the ability to provide for the defense of Japan, and increase the ability to perform humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions