Posted on 12/12/2005 6:30:45 AM PST by Flavius
Representatives from the Marine Corps accepted the first production Block-B MV-22 Osprey for the government in a ceremony at Bell Helicopter in Amarillo, Texas, Dec. 8.
“With the progression from Block A into Block B, we see for the first time the baseline configuration that the warfighter will take into combat after we reach IOC – our initial operational capability – in 2007,” said Col. Bill Taylor, program manager for the V-22 Joint Program Office.
Marine Corps leadership turned out in force to witness the Osprey production line graduate from turning out aircraft for test and training to supplying operational birds. Lt. Gen. Jim Amos, commanding general of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force, and Maj. Gen. Thomas Moore, commanding general of the Second Marine Air Wing, both made the trip to Amarillo to represent the troops who will ride into combat with the Osprey starting in 2007.
The Marine Corps plans to purchase 360 MV-22s for missions including amphibious assault, ship-to-objective maneuvers and sustained operations ashore. Combining the operational flexibility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, the tiltrotor MV-22 will allow the Marine Corps to achieve previously unobtainable strategic objectives.
The Navy is also slated to get 48 MV-22s, which could be used for fleet logistic support and search and rescue. The Air Force Special Operations Command will acquire 50 CV-22 variants, with enhanced capabilities tailored for their unique mission requirements. The CV-22 will reach IOC in 2009.
“The Osprey remains at the very soul of our Corps' ability to fight future conflicts across a widely disbursed battlefield,” Amos said. “Battlefields where the tyranny of distance is solved with speed, and where an irregular enemy who chooses to fight at an urban marketplace or at an ambush site in a wadi is faced with the dilemma: ‘Where are they? I know they are coming, I just don't know when or where.’”
Speaking of current operations in Iraq, Amos talked in specifics about the impact Ospreys would have on field commanders’ ability to move troops to the fight and get wounded out in a fraction of the time typical today. Osprey implementation will have a measurable impact on lives saved in combat, he said.
The V-22 successfully passed operational evaluation this summer, achieving all the key performance parameters identified by the Marine Corps as essential to the Osprey’s role in its fighting forces. Recommendations from that OPEVAL validated the program’s roadmap for follow-on test and evaluation to add capabilities as the aircraft progresses toward its deployment date. In September, a Defense Acquisition Board authorized full rate production for the Osprey, moving the program into a new phase that Taylor called the “road to IOC.”
Later this month, the Naval Air Systems Command will conduct the first stage of an IOC Supportability Review, to confirm the Osprey program’s ability to provide long-term logistics support and sustainability for the new MV-22 operational community. Taylor solicited fleet involvement in that process, giving the future operators a chance to grade the program on its readiness posture.
Leading the way for those future operators will be VMM-263, which will stand up as the first operational MV-22 squadron in March 2006 under the command of Lt. Col. Paul Rock. Rock accepted the keys for the first Block-B aircraft at the Dec. 8 ceremony.
Both the V-22 program and the aircraft itself have undergone significant reengineering in the last five years. As the user community grows, critical appraisal of the Osprey will belong increasingly to the men and women who are most qualified to judge its value, Taylor said, starting with VMM-263.
“Lt. Col. Rock and his people are going to keep us all accountable,” he said. “No one in this room should be satisfied unless he is satisfied.”
The Marines prove again how brave they are be being willing to fly in those things.
Will they turn out to be flying coffins?
The Transformers make a big come back - weed wacker to troop plane cool.
"Osprey" does it run on fish - I watched a couple bald eagles just mug a group of Ospreys - the Ospreys would catch the fish and the eagles would steal it from them.
It was like they were filling take out orders - pecking order at work I guess.
So is the President going to use one of these instead of the presidential helo??? Me thinks not.
Does anyone know if they got these things fixed???
Not just Marines, but Airmen and Sailors. You appear to have little confidence in the Services abilities to test and iron out the wrinkles in these vehicles. The crashes, although tragic, identified areas for improvement. As with all new aircraft, there will always be crashes and accidents. That's the nature of flight test.
Risk management, risk mitigation, call it what you will, there will always be an element of risk. One does what they can to minimize the risk, but it's always there.
Do you honestly think test personnel of the respective services would let these vehicles fly if they felt there was a danger to there fellow servicemen? Having worked in a flight test environment, I can tell you absolutely not.
Yes the Marines are brave, so are the Airmen and Sailors, and Soldiers. They take risks everyday. What is so different from this aircraft than an operational helicopter? None except for the fact that the new one has some very unique flying characteristics and technology.
Do you have the same opinion of the B-1, the F-22, the F-117A, the F-16, the F-15 or any other vehicle that has crashed with loss of life?
SZ
They've made some modifications since the first series of fatal crashes. They appear ready for the second round.
I hope so!
The tilting rotor adds another moving part that could break down-another part over a helo. I hope the problems are solved, because this would add more capability. Insertion/removal of large # forces would be enhnanced considerablely.
I bet these are getting to as reliable as a chinook.
One Marine Captain was already punished for falsifying Osprey maintenance records for his unit. He claimed that he was under considerable pressure to keep these things "flying".
Other than that, I think it's not particularly unsafe. Even the UH-60 Blackhawk had a vetting period which claimed lives. But, the USMC should never have put Marines into the V-22 until the pilots had more experience, as the two largest crashes were pilot error.
I'm more concerned that it's been withdrawn from the USAF SAR competition and its limited armamant capabilities. You don't dare mount ANYTHING out the sides, looking straight at the engines. The USMC is claiming an armed escort for these (Cobras), but a Cobra cannot keep up with the V-22 and slowing down the V-22 would erase it's reason for existence.
I won't argue with the aircraft's inherent weaknesses. All aircraft have weaknesses. I want the things to be as safe and reliable as possible as well. Folks (Servicemen especially) dying because of poor design, engineering or maintenance always pisses me off.
This vehicle's claim to fame is the tilt rotor. That's what makes it so attractive to the services. Speed, range, silence, and flexibility.
I've seen the CV-22's flying around Edwards, and have talked with some of the testers. They're working their asses off to make sure it's no lemon. As with any new vehicle, it takes time to make them reliable.
We still have sustainment and improvement programs for aircraft that are over 50 years old. That should tell you something about the nature of aircraft. Engineers can't think of everything and sometimes they're limited by technology. Sometimes, it just takes 20 years for a part to reveal its ugly side and fail at the most inopportune moment.
SZ
Cool.
Where do you put the miniguns?
My kind of helicopter.
Having to rely on active boundary layer control and ducted blowing, not so much safe.
The Captain compromised his principles, he should have done the right thing and made the noise he was paid to make.
No argument with the Marines placing the other non-flyers at risk by "testing" the vehicle with inexperienced pilots.
Your last paragraph makes a lot of sense as well. No argument there either.
My original comments were directed to what I felt was an inane and incomplete post. No substantiating argument, just a negative statement.
I will not defend those in the service or test environment who compromise their principles "under pressure". I was under pressure constantly, but I always did my job no matter what heat came down. Our job was to make sure we got what we paid for and most importantly, that it was safe.
Thanks for the info on the SAR competition, I didn't know about that. I believe they will find a way to address the armament issue. Never underestimate the craftiness of a servicemember.
Cheers,
SZ
These things don't look like they want to fly.
Yep. The V-22 has gotten a lot of bad press.
A willing media is more than eager to make every incident look like one of equipment failure. Many people think that the dead Marines are the are result of an aircraft failure, but it was pilot error in the two largest crashes.
I really hope they can put some guns on that thing. Helo pilots know the value of a M60/M240 or a minigun hanging out the side doors ;)
I think they look cool. Not quite Rutan-ish, but ballsy like a c-130. I just wish they had a better track record. Hopefully the new generation takes care of that.
Or how stupid their brass can be for not scrapping the entire program years ago.
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