"It certainly is a survivable aircraft, with lots of redundant systems, so when it gets shot up, you're still able to fly," conceded Rivolo. But the Bor incident, he contended, "says the V-22 cannot operate in a hostile environment."
Has he ever heard of Somalia and Black Hawk Down? Did those birds make it out or where they downed. You cannot guarantee any flying machine getting sprayed with machine gun fire at close range not to have damage. And many will fail. The black hawks in Mogadishu where downed with RPG rounds to their tail rotors, but they did not survive.
To TSgt Shea and the aircrews, and the Navy Seals I say:
