New Osprey-Like Vertical Lift for the Army

There's something to be said for the ability to land on a small LZ. Oh well.
That was my first thought when I saw it too…those Blackhawks could take some punishment.

I guess everything has to look ‘cool and futuristic’ but it just seems like a fully different bird than where we went from the Huey to the Black Hawk to … something looks like a LOT could go wrong when under fire.
 
I just literally don't understand it. Yeah, we have them- and they suck. Bad. They get made fun of for a reason. It's literally the "sunk cost fallacy" playing out in real time.
I looked up a couple of things and it appears that this thing can fly significantly faster than our fastest helo, the Chinook. I think the range is also significantly better. I think the load is less, but let's face it, it's hard to match a 47 for that.

I fully acknowledge my biases in favor of the 47 platform, but I can't help but wonder if we would have been better off by just buying a bunch more 47s and updating the 60s.

The above notwithstanding, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a pilot. Any pilots on the site want to chime in?
 
I looked up a couple of things and it appears that this thing can fly significantly faster than our fastest helo, the Chinook. I think the range is also significantly better. I think the load is less, but let's face it, it's hard to match a 47 for that.

I fully acknowledge my biases in favor of the 47 platform, but I can't help but wonder if we would have been better off by just buying a bunch more 47s and updating the 60s.

The above notwithstanding, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a pilot. Any pilots on the site want to chime in?
Those stats are the same for the Osprey. Guess what? Hoisting is terrifying. Water work is almost completely a no go. Fast roping? Uh, nope. It's terrible on the pilots from a human performance standpoint. Small LZ? Nope. Rooftops? One wheel? Anything resembling precision troop employment in a tactical sense? Nooooope.

Now- if you think Africa and need something to defeat "tyranny of distance" and can fly longer and faster? Sure. But that's really about it. They're small on the inside. Not even big enough for a PJ team's ego, let alone a full belly of Army assaulters (in comparison to the 47).
 
Knowing nothing about anything other than Senators and Congressmen want military toys built in their backyard…“follow the money”.
Someone, somewhere paid somebody something, to sign off on this.
 
Those stats are the same for the Osprey. Guess what? Hoisting is terrifying. Water work is almost completely a no go. Fast roping? Uh, nope. It's terrible on the pilots from a human performance standpoint. Small LZ? Nope. Rooftops? One wheel? Anything resembling precision troop employment in a tactical sense? Nooooope.

Now- if you think Africa and need something to defeat "tyranny of distance" and can fly longer and faster? Sure. But that's really about it. They're small on the inside. Not even big enough for a PJ team's ego, let alone a full belly of Army assaulters (in comparison to the 47).

Fast roping from an osprey was a core memory for me.


I never want to do that again.
 
Those stats are the same for the Osprey. Guess what? Hoisting is terrifying. Water work is almost completely a no go. Fast roping? Uh, nope. It's terrible on the pilots from a human performance standpoint. Small LZ? Nope. Rooftops? One wheel? Anything resembling precision troop employment in a tactical sense? Nooooope.

Now- if you think Africa and need something to defeat "tyranny of distance" and can fly longer and faster? Sure. But that's really about it. They're small on the inside. Not even big enough for a PJ team's ego, let alone a full belly of Army assaulters (in comparison to the 47).

I never did anything "fun" in them, but I did have to configure them into enroute care platforms. They are narrower than the CH-46 and hard as hell to configure for multiple patients. Super cramped. I always felt confined and claustrophobic. Blackhawk? Check. -53? Fine. -46? Love 'em. Osprey? Nah, dog.
 
Fast roping from an osprey was a core memory for me.


I never want to do that again.
Terrifying, right? Lemme just reach *all the way out over the ramp's edge without being tied in to grab the rope, which is at a 45 degree angle and hop out on this bad boy*.

Pass. Hard pass.
 
Honestly, this feels like a "if the Air Force and Marines can have one, we can too" moment.

But why not the same one? Why come up with an Army version of the V-22? Why not adopt the Osprey, paint it green and put “ARMY” on it? Is it some kind of 46 vs 47 thing? Seems like a waste of money to have two kinds of tiltrotors. If we’re talking air assault, vertical envelopment, moving combat troops and their gear, why are the Army’s requirements so different from the Marines that it needs a whole new aircraft?

Or am I making too much sense?
 
But why not the same one? Why come up with an Army version of the V-22? Why not adopt the Osprey, paint it green and put “ARMY” on it? Is it some kind of 46 vs 47 thing? Seems like a waste of money to have two kinds of tiltrotors. If we’re talking air assault, vertical envelopment, moving combat troops and their gear, why are the Army’s requirements so different from the Marines that it needs a whole new aircraft?

Or am I making too much sense?
Great questions.

The V280 is to the Osprey what ACUs were to MARPAT uniforms.

And we all know how ACUs worked out...
 
But why not the same one? Why come up with an Army version of the V-22? Why not adopt the Osprey, paint it green and put “ARMY” on it? Is it some kind of 46 vs 47 thing? Seems like a waste of money to have two kinds of tiltrotors. If we’re talking air assault, vertical envelopment, moving combat troops and their gear, why are the Army’s requirements so different from the Marines that it needs a whole new aircraft?

Or am I making too much sense?

They are on the tail end of production of the Osprey; it's a pretty old AC now. It's a matter of time until the Corps starts shopping. They won't produce more to replace existing airframes.

@amlove21 , looks like your boss isn't interested in the new thing and wants to support the Osprey (2020 article):

Futuristic V-280 Not Advanced Enough to Replace the Osprey: AFSOC Commander
 
They are on the tail end of production of the Osprey; it's a pretty old AC now. It's a matter of time until the Corps starts shopping. They won't produce more to replace existing airframes.

@amlove21 , looks like your boss isn't interested in the new thing and wants to support the Osprey (2020 article):

Futuristic V-280 Not Advanced Enough to Replace the Osprey: AFSOC Commander

Lt Gen Slife changes command on Friday. I will have more to say about his opinions, record, and decisions in AFSOC after that. :ROFLMAO:
 
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