Osprey's Headed to Afghanistan

DA SWO

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This will be interesting to observe. I think the V-22 is a good frame, oversold, but an improvement in technology. I've heard mixed reviews about the Iraq deployment, and no longer have access to SIPR so I can't say how well they did. It'll be harder to hide the success/failures in Afghanistan though.

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2009/10/marine_1meb_101009w/

Marine officials say that an MV-22 Osprey squadron will deploy to Afghanistan for the first time in November.

Brig. Gen. Jon Davis, the assistant deputy commandant for aviation, can’t wait for the Osprey to get to theater, he said in early October during the Modern Day Marine Exposition at Quantico, Va. He expects the aircraft to change the way Marines do business in Afghanistan — just as it did in Iraq, he said.

It is likely that Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., will be tapped for the mission since it is next in line to deploy, although no deployment order has been issued. New River’s VMM-263 deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship Bataan this spring along with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and is expected to return home in December, said Maj. Eric Dent, a Marine spokesman.

A recent report by congressional investigators with the Government Accountability Office said Ospreys may not be suited for Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain, but Marine officials dispute the assessment.

“We believe the Osprey will prove its worth in Afghanistan, and anything that takes Marines off the roads deserves extra consideration,” Dent said.
 
Man... I don't think I'd ever fly in one of those things. My buddy Tim did the audio forensics on the voices tapes from the crew that died testing that thing (and the attempted coverup). He said the screams before they died haunt him to this day. That's enough for me to not want to fly in one...
 
Think I've said this before, but...

I was part of the OT&E team (a very small part) and I was impressed with it from the beginning. Flew on it many times in Iraq last deployemnt and continue to be impressed. If nothing else, it cut what had been a 2 1/2 to 3 hour flight down to 45 minutes. MUCH faster than any rotary wing AC out there. Is it the "ultimate AC"? I don't think so; there are many things it does well, some things it can do, and a few things it shouldn't be doing at all. If it's compared to the CH-46 (as I understand it, the V-22 was designed to replace the 46) it's a much better AC. If we expect it to replace all the rotary wing AC out there, it won't do that.
 
Man, isnt that thing a death trap?

IMO there were a lot of problems during testing but they've worked them out for the most part. Like any new type of airframe (which we haven't had since helicopters and jets were developed in the 40s/50s), it's going to have teething problems. Not saying the deaths in testing were justified, but all new technology has it's problems that aren't all revealed until it goes into operational testing & development.

Old saying in Naval aviation "All warnings are written in blood".

I lost a few people I really resepct in the V-22 crashes, but I have confidence in the platform as it now stands.
 
What is it's (unclassifed) capabilities for high altitude ops in hover mode? The major restriction I see in Afghanistan is the space needed to land is about twice that as a CH47 (based on guesstimate with the M-1AD3 Eyeball).
 
IMO Not saying the deaths in testing were justified, but all new technology has it's problems that aren't all revealed until it goes into operational testing & development.

I know very little about the Osprey. Only time will tell if it's worth it's salt. I equate it to the SPIE rig. Although 1st Force had it before 1st Recon it was brand new to us. It took only a few months to reveal a major flaw not with the rig per say but there was no quick release in the bird if shit went south. It took the lives of a 7 man team, our Bn. C.O., extract officer & NCO, and the 46 crew to bring the problem to the forefront. Skip Giles and Rod Pupuhi tried several different methods but the only thing feasible was an ax. You'd think those who dreamed up the rig would have addressed the problem but it sometimes takes the death of pioneers to bring even the simplest problem to the front.

Death in combat is hard enough but to die in a non combat accident like those in team Rush Act and those on the bird seems a waste but you have to look at it as they did not die in vain. They died as a learning tool so that it would not happen again. As bad as it was things would have been much worse in a combat situation. Hard pill to swallow if the ones who died are known to you but you have to make some kind of sense out of it.

Hopefully the Osprey won't be bloodied any more by design flaws.

6
 
I've talked with some flight crews who love it & think it's the best thing since sliced bread. There aren't too many AC that don't have developmental/flight-test nightmares...like Harrier, for instance. Only trouble is that when a V-22 augered in it took a lot more people with it. And like Harrier, it's a very tricky aircraft.

The unclassified specs include a service ceiling of 26K (as compared to the 46's 14k) and top speed about twice as fast as a 46, (305MPH @ 15K vrs 165mph for the 46).
 
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