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The Americans Are Coming! MV-22 Osprey Makes First Landing On British Carrier Wed, 11 Jul '07 Marines, UK Forces Prepare For Joint Exercise Off Eastern US Ahead of a US-led Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFX) on the Eastern seaboard of the United States, the HMS Illustrious welcomed the very first embarkation of a US Marine Corps Bell/Boeing MV-22 Osprey onto the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Wednesday. It is the first time an Osprey has landed on a non-US vessel. Portions Copyright © 1999-2007 by Aero-News Network, Inc. All rights reserved. Representatives with the UK's Ministry of Defense tell ANN the...

HMS Illustrious has become the first Royal Navy ship to embark a US Marine Corps Bell/Boeing MV-22 Osprey aircraft onto its deck during a joint exercise in the United States. The landing, which comes ahead of a US-led Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFX) on the Eastern seaboard of the United States, was the first time that an Osprey has embarked in a non-US vessel anywhere in the world. The MV-22 Osprey, the world's first tilt-rotor aircraft, has a unique vertical take-off and landing capability. It is ideally suited to working from the deck of HMS Illustrious, which is currently the...

The future of Marine Aviation is grim. The Corps plans to eliminate 36% of its fighter-attack aircraft (F/A-18s and AV-8 Harriers) as part of the Navy-Marine TacAir Plan. The V-22 tilt-rotor remains "in development" and soaring costs allow only half the number desired to be funded each year. Meanwhile, the Corps will buy new engines to extend the life of its ancient CH-46Es, yet again. This has delayed plans to overhaul and upgrade 111 of the Corps 165 CH-53Es. Now there is talk of buying new CH-53Ks, since the ageing Echos may be too costly to rebuild. However, there will...

<p>Camp Doha, Kuwait -- American and British commanders say that they are devising a strategy intended to defeat the Iraqi military without completely destroying it, and to limit damage to Iraq's infrastructure.</p> <p>Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of land forces if the United States leads an invasion of Iraq, said he and other commanders were devising procedures for Iraqi units to signal their intention to stay out of the war.</p>

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — The Marines are causing quite a stir in Afghanistan. Six Harriers from Marine Harrier Squadron VMA-513 — the "Nightmares," to be precise — began arriving at Bagram from their home base at Yuma Marine Station, Ariz., over the weekend, with the last two landing on Monday. And when the gray fighter jets started screaming through the brilliant blue sky, everything else halted. Merchants stopped their dickering, while children dropped their schoolbags to point, eyes wide with awe. Not all of the VMA-513’s Harriers are in Afghanistan. The squadron has 16 aircraft, and the other...

Back in Bagram, Harriers Take the War to the Terrorists By R. R. Keene On the wind-swept plains 35 miles north of Kabul, there's a flutter of a canvas tent flap caused by a gush of thin, cold air as it races along the 5,000-foot-high plateau. It rattles the razor wire encircling the sandbagged tent camp at the airfield outside Bagram, an encampment to more than 200 "Flying Nightmares" of Marine Attack Squadron 513. It is a long way from their home at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. The tents, 16 feet by 32 feet general purpose, shiver but...