A USMC MV-22B Osprey prepares to land on the flight deck of HMAS Canberra during flying operations at RIMPAC 2022. (Australia Department of Defence)
A Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) Canberra-class amphibious assault ship has embarked US Marine Corps (USMC) MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in an at-sea phase of a naval exercise for the first time, marking improved interoperability between the two services.
The embarkation took place as part of the US Navy (USN)-hosted Rim of the Pacific ('RIMPAC') 2022 international naval exercise, which is being conducted in and around the waters of Hawaii from 29 June to 4 August, said the RAN in a 20 July statement.
As part of the exercise, HMAS Canberra departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, with two MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The aircraft type first conducted deck landing operations on Canberra in 2016, but this is the first time that the aircraft are embarked and fully operating out of the ship for military exercises.
Besides MV-22s, Canberra is also hosting the USMC's launch CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters during the ‘RIMPAC' exercises, the RAN added.
The service has not given further details of the drills that will be conducted by the MV-22s from Canberra . However, images and videos released by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) on 21 July indicate that the aircraft are being used as part of an amphibious assault exercise that involves a 181-strong multinational task force. The force includes Malaysian Army paratroopers, Australian Army soldiers, and US Army personnel.
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