Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific inducts first US Marine Corps V-22 Osprey for maintenance.

Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRC WESTPAC) is inducting its first United States Marine Corps V-22 Osprey with Japanese industrial partner, NIPPI Corporation, for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services at their facility in Yamato, Japan.

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V-22 Osprey is a multi-engine, dual-piloted, self-deployable, medium lift, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tilt-rotor aircraft designed for combat, combat support, combat service support, and Special Operations missions worldwide (Picture source: US Marine Corps)

The aircraft entering maintenance is a MV-22B Osprey belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (VMM-265), the “Dragons.” Their mission is to provide assault support transport of combat troops, supplies, and equipment in support of the Marine Air-ground Task Force.

“FRC WESTPAC is very excited to be inducting this aircraft today, and adding another commercial partner to support V-22 planned maintenance interval (PMI) events in the region,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Ryan, Commanding Officer, FRC WESTPAC. “NIPPI Corporation has demonstrated their maintenance expertise on multiple other aircraft lines for FRC WESTPAC and we anticipate we will see the same quality output for the V-22 line.”

NIPPI Corporation joins the new contract, which Subaru Corporation has been supporting FRC WESTPAC V-22 maintenance since 2015, to handle the maintenance requirement for the Osprey fleet located Outside of the Continental United States (OCONUS). FRC WESTPAC’s customer base is mainly concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, but can include any U.S. Navy or Marine Corps aircraft located around the world.

“With multiple contractors supporting the V-22 Osprey, FRC WESTPAC can guarantee that all future aircraft inductions will be the best overall value for the U.S. Government in terms of cost, aircraft turnaround time, and quality of maintenance performed,” said LtCol Ryan. “Our goal here at FRC WESTPAC is to rapidly repair and return safe, mission-ready aircraft to the fleet so they have the warfighting capabilities to win, and at a cost conducive to the U.S. government.”

As a new awardee on FRC WESTPAC’s maintenance contract, NIPPI Corporation was allocated nine months to ready their facility and prepare their plan for maintenance of the aircraft. These requirements included; a facility with the necessary space and safety systems in place, an outline of manning capabilities with the appropriate technical expertise, a working supply chain or means of acquiring materials, amongst other necessities.

The nine month period began on July 1, 2021 when the contract took effect. On December 17, 2021, nearly three months ahead of schedule, NIPPI Corporation received final sign off from the U.S. government stating they had met the requirements to induct an aircraft. Thanks to NIPPI Corporation’s accelerated stand up time, the company was able to compete for the next aircraft scheduled to induct, which they subsequently won, and are currently in the process of inducting.

A V-22 Osprey recently flown from Okinawa, Japan is temporarily parked on the flight line at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan while final induction coordination occurs between FRC WESTPAC, NIPPI Corporation, and the flight crew of VMM-265. The aircraft will undergo its scheduled depot-level maintenance in NIPPI Corporation’s aviation maintenance facility (Picture source: FRC WESTPAC)

All induction proposals are reviewed and evaluated by Fleet Logistics Center Yokosuka, FRC WESTPAC’s contracting authority, who in turn awards the maintenance workload. Assuming the V-22 maintenance contract reaches its maximum lifecycle, both NIPPI Corporation and Subaru Corporation will continue to compete until the contract expires on 31 December 2030.

When asked about the upcoming induction NIPPI leadership responded, “NIPPI is proud to be providing this capability for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, and we look forward to starting the scheduled maintenance event on this first V-22 aircraft.”

NIPPI Corporation is a trusted, longtime partner of the United States government, servicing military aircraft since the early 1950s. To date, NIPPI Corporation has worked on over 14,000 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

FRC WESTPAC currently has four aviation maintenance contracts with NIPPI for scheduled maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. These contracts include the H-1, H-60, F-18, and the newly awarded V-22.

“FRC WESTPAC’s industrial partners are ready, willing, and more than capable of producing the world-class quality aircraft that our customers need for future operations. With their support, FRC WESTPAC will continue to positively impact fleet readiness across the Naval Aviation Enterprise for years to come,” said LtCol Ryan.

Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit carry a simulated casualty to an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft during a quick reaction force drill as part of a theater amphibious combat rehearsal at Tabuk Training Center, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, June 2021(Picture source: US Marine Corps)