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The US military has deployed aircraft and troops to northern Iraq to boost its ability to rescue downed coalition pilots, after a Jordanian airman was captured and killed by jihadists in Syria, a defense official said Thursday. "We are repositioning some assets into northern Iraq," a US defense official told AFP. The move is designed to shorten the response time needed to reach pilots who end up in territory held by the Islamic State group, officials said. Search-and-rescue crews had been based in Kuwait, but officials said Wednesday the military was reviewing where its hardware and specialists were located following...

An Air Force investigation has concluded that the fatal crash of a CV-22 Osprey aircraft in Afghanistan last April resulted from a number of factors, largely flight crew mistakes. But the official conclusion runs counter to the opinion of the Air Force officer who led the crash investigation, who concluded there was strong evidence to indicate the $87 million-plus aircraft probably had engine trouble in the final seconds leading up to the crash. Crash site evidence showed the pilot attempted a straight, roll-on landing rather than a standard vertical landing or making a second pass. The only reason the CV-22...

The BellBoeing CV-22 crash in Afghanistan on 8 April was not caused by a mechanical failure, according to a source familiar with preliminary findings of the US military investigation. The fatal crash, which killed four and injured others, occurred after the pilot lost situational awareness while landing in a wadi around 1am under brown-out conditions, the source says. The incident killed the pilot, a flight engineer, an army Ranger and an unidentified civilian. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), which owns the CV-22 fleet, was not immediately available to comment. US military officials have previously stated the cause of the...

A U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey crashed in southern Afghanistan late last night, killing three U.S. servicemembers, one civilian employee and injuring numerous other servicemembers. The cause of the crash is unknown, officials with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said. Officials said the aircraft was carrying U.S. troops when it crashed seven miles west of Qalat City in Zabul province. The injured were transported to a nearby base for medical treatment. The CV-22, a modified version of the Marine Corps MV-22, conducts long-range infiltration and resupply for U.S. forces. It employs tilt-rotor technology that allows it to take off and...

Three US service personnel and one civilian were killed when a US Air Force Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crashed in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul Province on 8 April. “Numerous other service members” were also injured in the mishap, according to a statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. “The cause of the crash is unknown at this time,” it says. The incident, which happened near Qalat City, represents the first crash to have involved an operational version of the V-22, which is also used by the US Marine Corps in the MV configuration. The Osprey programme suffered three fatal...

Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets has been a pilot for 13 years, but when he switched to the new Osprey troop and cargo carrier, "it was like learning how to fly all over again." Even if you're just along for the ride, like civilians who got a demonstration Wednesday morning, the CV-22 Osprey takes some getting used to. Especially at the moment of truth, when this one-of-a-kind, helicopter-airplane hybrid switches from one mode of flight to the other - in midair. Critics disagree, but the Pentagon insists it worked out all the bugs for pilots such as Sheets during...

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’ —...

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- A CV-22 Osprey assigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB participated in the aircraft's first search and recovery mission, responding to the fatal crash of a medical aircraft in the mountains of southern Colorado. Airport officials lost contact with the Arizona-based Beechcraft King Air airplane at 11:22 p.m. on Oct. 4 as the air ambulance headed toward San Luis Regional Medical Center while responding to a medical call. At about 9:15 a.m. Oct. 5, the Air Force Rescue Center contacted Kirtland Air Force Base with a call to help at...

A squadron of tiltrotors for the US Special Operations Command may enter service in Iraq far in advance of the type's planned in-service date of early fiscal year 2009. The first deployment of Bell Boeing CV-22s may be accelerated to replace an ageing fleet of Sikorksy MH-53 Pave Lows currently used by air force special operations units for transport and search-and-rescue missions, US Air Force chief of staff Gen Michael Moseley said on 26 September. The CV-22 could be deployed in "pre-initial operational capability" status to provide the vertical lift mission, he said, addressing the Air Force Association's annual convention...

CV-22 visits Air Force Academy

EDWARDS AFB - It doesn't look like the sleek aircraft with which it shares the skies over Edwards Air Force Base, but the CV-22 Osprey is making its own mark in the annals of flight test history there. The hybrid aircraft, known as a tilt-rotor, is in a class by itself, combining the small-field landing and hovering capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and distance of an airplane. The tilt-rotor accomplishes its task by rotating its engines, mounted on the wings. With the engines down, the aircraft looks and flies like an airplane with propellers at the front end...

Pilots thrilled by CV-22 capabilities by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee Air Force Print News 10/6/2006 - KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- When he talks about his new aircraft, the CV-22 Osprey, the lieutenant colonel's face lights up like a kid opening presents on his birthday. After 10 years of flying the MC-130H Combat Talon II, CV-22 instructor pilot Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets, from the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., said he has enjoyed his time in the aircraft. "When it's in the airplane mode, to me this is like a C-130 sports car," he said....

3/21/2006 - KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- A new chapter in Air Force aviation opened March 20 as the first operational CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft arrived here. The aircraft was flown from the test wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., by Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, to the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland. The 58th provides advanced training to special operations pilots and aircrews. The CV-22 Osprey is a special operations variant of the MV-22, currently used by the Marines. The aircraft has the unique ability to takeoff, land...

3/7/2006 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Aeronautical Systems Center's commander, Lt. Gen. John L. “Jack” Hudson, along with other Department of Defense leaders, was on hand to accept the keys from Bell Boeing for the first combat configured CV-22 Osprey during a ceremony March 1 at the Bell manufacturing facility in Amarillo, Texas. "It's an honor to be here for this historic milestone in aviation history," General Hudson said. "When our nation chooses to deploy forces into combat, we do our best to send them well-equipped and well-trained." The Air Force plans to purchase 50 CV-22s for...

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...

11/4/2005 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- The Air Force’s second CV-22 Osprey arrived here Oct. 27. -- two months earlier than the contract’s due date. The first Air Force CV-22 was delivered for electromagnetic testing to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., Sept. 16 and will arrive at Edwards in December. The third CV-22 will be delivered in February 2006. The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center will use these three aircraft to conduct an operational utility evaluation next summer. If the CV-22 completes the evaluation successfully it will be certified for use in training operations...

EDWARDS AFB - After taking a year off, the Edwards Air Force Base Open House and Air Show returns with a bang - and a boom and a roar - on Oct. 22 and 23. The free event will feature seldom-seen aircraft in the air and on the ground as the base pulls out all the stops to showcase military and civilian aviation. "It's looking real good," said Edwards spokesman John Haire of the tentative show lineup, expected to feature more flying than in recent years. Making its aerial debut at Edwards will be the unmanned Predator, used in combat...

In celebration of the past, the Air Force chief of staff got an eyeful of the present and future of flight at the world's premier flight test facility. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper visited Edwards Air Force Base on Nov. 22 as part of a Centennial of Flight celebration. The event featured aerial demonstrations and static displays of many of the current and future aircraft in the Air Force arsenal, and hosted members of the Eagles, distinguished aviators who have advanced the world of aerospace. "What we have here is the trace of history, a bloodline of...