AYASE, KANAGAWA PREF. ¨C The Maritime Self-Defense Force¡¯s P-1 patrol aircraft has left the Atsugi air base in Kanagawa Prefecture for deployment to Djibouti to take part in an anti-piracy mission.
This is the first time the P-1, Â鶹´«Ã½ first domestically built patrol aircraft, has taken part in an overseas mission. It will replace the P-3C patrol aircraft.
The MSDF has been deploying personnel for the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia since 2009, and the latest dispatch marks the 60th such deployment.
About 50 personnel are scheduled to serve on a three-month mission to conduct surveillance and monitoring activities using the P-1 in place of the aging P-3C aircraft.
The P-1 entered service in 2013. Unlike the propeller-driven P-3C, it is equipped with four turbofan jet engines. As of the end of March this year, the MSDF had taken delivery of 40 P-1s.
After leaving Japan on Monday via the Naha air base in Okinawa Prefecture, the P-1 will arrive in Djibouti on Wednesday.
In a speech at a departure ceremony Sunday, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he is confident that the new personnel will steadily carry out their duties.
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