https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military
aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and short takeoff and
landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a
conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a
turboprop aircraft.
The failure of Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980
underscored the requirement for a new long-range, high-speed, vertical-takeoff
aircraft for the United States Department of Defense. In response, the
Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) aircraft program
started in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters
was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The
Bell Boeing team jointly produce the aircraft. The V-22 first flew in 1989, and
began flight testing and design alterations; the complexity and difficulties of
being the first tiltrotor for military service led to many years of development.
The United States Marine Corps began crew training for the Osprey in 2000, and
fielded it in 2007; it supplemented and then replaced their Boeing Vertol CH-46
Sea Knights. The Osprey's other operator, the U.S. Air Force, fielded their
version of the tiltrotor in 2009. Since entering service with the U.S. Marine
Corps and Air Force, the Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac
operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Kuwait.
The first V-22 was rolled out with significant media attention in May 1988. The
project suffered several blows. That year, the U.S. Army left the program,
citing a need to focus its budget on more immediate aviation programs. In 1989,
the project survived two separate votes in the Senate that could have resulted
in cancellation. Despite the Senate's decision, the Department of Defense
instructed the U.S. Navy not to spend more money on the V-22. When the V-22's
projected development budget greatly increased in 1988, Defense Secretary Dick
Cheney tried to remove funding from 1989 to 1992 in an effort to cancel it. He
was eventually overruled by Congress, which provided unrequested funding for the
program. Multiple studies of alternatives found the V-22 provided more
capability and combat effectiveness with similar operating costs. The Clinton
Administration was supportive of the V-22 and helped it attain funding.
The V-22's development process has been long and controversial, partly due to
its large cost increases, some of which are caused by the requirement to fold
wing and rotors to fit aboard ships. The development budget was first planned
for $2.5 billion in 1986, which increased to a projected $30 billion in 1988. By
2008, $27 billion had been spent on the program and another $27.2 billion was
required to complete planned production numbers. Between 2008 and 2011, the
estimated lifetime cost for maintaining the V-22 grew by 61 percent, mostly
allocated to maintenance and support.
"Its [The V-22's] production costs are considerably greater than for helicopters
which has a greater payload and an ability to carry heavy equipment the V-22
cannot... an Osprey unit would cost around $60 million to produce, and $35
million for the helicopter equivalent.
Role
V/STOL military transport aircraft
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Bell Helicopter
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems
First flight
19 March 1989
Introduction
13 June 2007
Status
In service
Primary users
United States Marine Corps
United States Air Force
Produced
Number built
200+ as of 2014
Program cost
US$35.6 billion after planned procurement of 408 aircraft
Unit cost
MV-22: US$72.1 million (flyaway cost for FY2015)
Developed from
Bell XV-15
Operational history
U.S. Marine Corps
On arrival, they were used in Iraq's western Anbar province for cargo and troop
movements, as well as riskier "aero-scout" missions. General David Petraeus, the
top U.S. military commander in Iraq, used one to visit troops around Iraq on
Christmas Day 2007; as did then-presidential candidate Barack Obama during his
2008 tour of Iraq. Obtaining spare parts proved problematic. By July 2008, the
V-22 had flown 3,000 sorties totaling 5,200 hours in Iraq. General George J.
Trautman, III praised the V-22's increased speed and range over legacy
helicopters, stating that "it turned his battle space from the size of Texas
into the size of Rhode Island." Through 2009, V-22s had been fired upon several
times by man-portable air-defense systems, and small arms with none lost to
enemy fire.
A Government Accountability Office study reported that by January 2009, 12
MV-22s were operating in Iraq and they completed all assigned missions; mission
capable rates averaged 57% to 68%, and an overall full mission capable rate of
6%. The report also stated that the aircraft had shown weakness in situational
awareness, maintenance, shipboard operations and transport capability. The study
range enable personnel and internal cargo to be transported faster and farther
than is possible with the legacy helicopters it is replacing."
The MV-22 deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009 with VMM-261, and saw its
first offensive combat mission, Operation Cobra's Anger, on 4 December 2009.
Ospreys assisted in inserting 1,000 Marines and 150 Afghan troops into the Now
Zad Valley of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan to disrupt Taliban
communication and supply lines. On 18 February 2011, Marine Commandant General
James Amos indicated MV-22s deployed to Afghanistan had surpassed 100,000 flight
in the Marine Corps inventory.
U.S. Air Force
The Air Force's first operational CV-22 was delivered to the 58th Special
Operations Wing (58th SOW) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico on 20 March
2006. This and subsequent aircraft became part of the 58th SOW's fleet of
aircraft used for training pilots and crew members for special operations use.
On 16 November 2006, the Air Force officially accepted the CV-22 in a ceremony
conducted at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The Air Force first used the V-22 on a
non-training mission to perform search and rescue from Kirtland Air Force Base
on 4 October 2007.
Specifications (MV-22B)
General characteristics
Crew: Four (pilot, copilot and two flight engineers/crew chiefs)
Capacity:
24 troops (seated), 32 troops (floor loaded), or
20,000 lb (9,070 kg) of internal cargo, or up to 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) of
external cargo (dual hook)
Length: 57 ft 4 in (17.5 m)
Rotor diameter: 38 ft 0 in (11.6 m)
Wingspan: 45 ft 10 in (14 m)
Width with rotors: 84 ft 7 in (25.8 m)
Height: 22 ft 1 in/6.73 m; overall with nacelles vertical (17 ft 11 in/5.5 m; at
top of tailfins)
Empty weight: 33,140 lb (15,032 kg)
Loaded weight: 47,500 lb (21,500 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 60,500 lb (27,400 kg) (self-deploy/long runway) Maximum
rolling takeoff weight: 57,000 lb (STOL)
Maximum vertical takeoff weight: 52,600 lb
(4,590 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 275 knots (509 km/h, 316 mph) at sea level / 305 kn (565 km/h;
351 mph) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
Cruise speed: 241 kn (277 mph, 446 km/h) at sea level
Stall speed: 110 kn (126 mph, 204 km/h) in airplane mode
Range: 879 nmi (1,011 mi, 1,627 km)
Combat radius: 390 nmi (426 mi, 722 km)
Ferry range: 1,940 nmi (2,230 mi, 3,590 km) with auxiliary internal fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Glide ratio: 4.5:1
Power/mass: 0.259 hp/lb (427 W/kg)
Armament
gun on ramp, removable
control in the Remote Guardian System
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