For fire suppression I would hope the various types of Metalstorm is considered.
Posted on 12/12/2007 6:49:58 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey might be getting more firepower.
The aircraft, which is currently making its combat-zone debut in Iraq, has the ability to hover like a helicopter and fly like a fixed-wing aircraft. It is meant to replace CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, the Corps’ aging workhorse.
Ospreys come equipped with a gun at the ramp in the rear of the aircraft, but they might also get a gun with a 360-degree field of fire, said Marine Lt. Gen. John G. Castellaw.
“One of the options would be to install within what we call the ‘hell-hole’ — but that, that’s where the cargo hook is — a gun in there that would have the ability to shoot 360,” said Castellaw, deputy commandant for programs and resources.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Castellaw said the Osprey has significant advantages over the Sea Knight, most notably its speed and ability to climb rapidly, which means it requires less in the way of defensive systems.
“I told you I’m a -46 pilot; you know, the reason, the main reason I got .50 cals that are on either side (of the CH-46) is when I go into the zone, because I’m so slow and my acceleration rate is just a little bit better than a Volkswagen, then I want something that’s going to keep their heads down until I get enough speed and get away from there,” he said.
Not only can Ospreys get out of the path of the bullet quicker, but they are also built to take hits, Castellaw said.
Another advantage Ospreys have over Sea Knights is they can carry troops at 13,000 feet, which is out of range of most anti-aircraft artillery and missiles, he said.
Asked how well the Osprey is performing in Iraq, Castellaw said the aircraft is performing well, but he did not elaborate.
“It means it does well,” he said. “It does the mission that it was sent to do. It carries troops, it carries things, it goes where it needs to go, and it does it with a readiness rate that it allows it to sustain those operations.”
My brother the Marine, hates these things. He knew several good marines who died in crashes because these things were supposedly ready to go.
When was their last crash? and who did he know?
I really hate to point this out but at least 40 Marines have died in Helicopter crashes since the last Osprey crash but no one is calling for the retirement of the CH-53 and CH-46's that Those Marines died in, and they were "ready to go" and have been so since the days of Viet Nam.
And there is no other replacement on the horizon for the CH-46.
“I would hate to have to ride around in one.”
If you were wounded, on the battlefield, and the medical unit was 200 miles away, you would choose a CH-46 ride over the V-22?
“I believe the article states that they need the weapons when taking off and landing.”
“If such is being done in Vertical Lift, the props are out of the way.”
Door guns are the best option. A mechanical “stop” could be used to keep them from firing upward into the props and another “stop” could disable the guns when the props are forward in airplane mode.
A belly turret is expensive, you won’t see it for years, it takes up cabin room, it reduces range, it’s less reliable, and I’m not even sure there’s enough clearance between the belly and the ground.
I think you guys are visualizing this wrong. Picture it with the rotors in the up/helicopter position with a swiveling gun mounted on the belly. No way you’ll hit the props.
For fire suppression I would hope the various types of Metalstorm is considered.
The MPs, to their credit, did a great job cleaning out the snipers from the Baghdad AOR. They'd use their own patrols and troops to bait the snipers. Once the sniper took his shot they'd rush in and kill him. They lost some good soldiers locating those snipers. But they got the job done and everybody benefitted.
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I do not know the specifics, how can you ask me to ask my brother about the guys he knew that died? He is a career marine inthe Force Recon. If there is no other option, it seems pretty crappy that all the eggs are in one basket.
This is true. I think we may end up seeing something more akin to the Apache's chin-mounted 30mm chaingun with a similar helmet/monacle setup to pick out targets from within the aircraft.
You could probably even mount it to the belly without having to clog up the hellhole, but it could make fastroping into a hot LZ even more exciting than it already is. 8^)
The Marines have lost over 100 Harriers to crashes. They have the highest accident rate of any aircraft in the US inventory.
There is no hope for autorotation in a Harrier-style aircraft. Just plummeting...
how can you ask me to ask my brother about the guys he knew that died? He is a career marine in the Force Recon.
How can I ask you? Simple, If you are going to trot your brother's opinion out as fact you should be aware that the names of those that died in the Osprey crash as well as the unit they were assigned to is a know fact, that I can check through my Marine Corps Contacts.
That is my means of separating fact from fiction, especially about The Corps or it's aircraft.
You also made several mistakes that Most family members especially those of Career Marines would never make. First you didn't capitalize Marine, Marines are very picky about that, we consider it a minor insult, not enough to come to blows but enough to wonder what your next attack would be.
Your next mistake was that you said your brother was a Career Marine with The Force Recon. No one in the Marines refers to those units as The Force Recon, it is always Force Recon or just plain Recon. Putting a "The" in front of Force Recon or Recon takes the sharp edge of the way it sounds and makes it sound sissified. Walking into a barracks at Camp Geiger and asking if anyone there was in The Force Recon, is a good way to get decked and tossed out on your rear. Somethings just aren't done.
Stand behind your own opinion and criticize this aircraft in your ignorance of what it can do or in your ignorance of the safety records of the aircraft it is replacing at your peril but don't hide behind your brother's shadow.
We don't debate shadows here.
ping
The Marines have lost over 100 Harriers to crashes. They have the highest accident rate of any aircraft in the US inventory.
A link to your source please.
Fine, let me call up my brother, whom you doubt me and him, ask him for the names of his dead buddies. My Father and I rode(oops, Army term sorry wise guy) the USS Boxer back from Pearl Harbor with him this past April after his MEU came back from Iraq and other parts of the world. Do not doubt me, do not doubt my word. I could give 2 craps less about my perfect pronunciation and spelling of Marine Corps terms. A fellow I go to Church with was in THE Force Recon, & retired. Quite trying to stir up BS.
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Just duct tape the weapon TO the props...there's your 360 degrees.
Why don’t you quit belittling an aircraft you know next to nothing about based upon the second hand opinions of someone that never worked on a Marine Corps Aircraft in his life.
During the eleven years I served we lost at least 2 to 3 CH-46’s a year and almost as many CH-53’s, compare those numbers with the total amount of accidents that the Osprey has had so far.
Better yet why don’t you tell me how many Ospreys in total have crashed since they joined operational squadrons within the Fleet Marine Force.
Thanks for post.
Do you own stock, or have a guilty concience? I asked you to stop stirring up BS. When you straight out call me a liar expect to get a little attitude brother.
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