"Trying to remember which previous aircraft this one replaced?"
I think it was this one:
Five were ordered by the Military.
Three were delivered.
Two crashed while testing.
One was used for parts, to fix the crashed ones.
Yeah, I’ll hate on it. Only because you can buy 20 Blackhawk helicopters for every V22. And you can buy 50 F16s for every F35 and so on. The F16 only ever needed weapons upgrades, I don’t mind spending money on the military, I just wish we got more bang for the buck.
I know you're exaggerating, but a new build F-16C Block 70 costs $63 million, and the latest tranche of F-35As cost $70 million.
The Blackhawk doesn't have the capacity, range, or speed of the Osprey, so it isn't a substitute, regardless of cost.
"Trying to remember which previous aircraft this one replaced?"
I think it was this one:
Five were ordered by the Military.
Three were delivered.
Two crashed while testing.
One was used for parts, to fix the crashed ones.
“Only because you can buy 20 Blackhawk helicopters for every V22.”
A few V22s might be able to offer a military advantage that makes it worth that much. Or that was true when the aircraft was put into service. Now, with all sorts of unmanned aircraft, it might no longer be true.
I can see where the V22 would be a more complex thing to keep stable, and more complex in general than a helicopter.
...and have to find the crews to man them.
The military took delivery of 742 B-52s but only 21 B-2s. Given the choice, the DoD prefers equipment costs over manpower costs.
Not quite. Blackhawks, depending on configuration, cost between $10 million and $25 million. Ospreys cost about $71 million. So it is between 3-ish and 7 Blackhawks to an Osprey.
They actually aren't a direct replacement for Blackhawks. They are more a transport unit. It is replacing different units in different services, like the Sea Knight CH-46 which entered active service in 1964, almost 60 years ago.