V-22 Osprey 

V-22 Osprey
U.S. Marines jump from an Osprey.
Role VTOL transport
National origin United States
Manufacturer Bell Helicopter
Boeing Helicopters
First flight 19 March 1989
Introduction 8 December 2005
Primary users United States Marine Corps
United States Air Force
Program cost US$50.5 billion (2005)1
Unit cost US$68 million in 2008 (CV-22 flyaway cost)2
Developed from Bell XV-15

The V-22 Osprey is a multi-mission, military tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. It is designed to perform missions like a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The V-22 was developed by Bell Helicopter, which manufactures it in partnership with Boeing Helicopters. The initial operators are the United States Marine Corps and Air Force. The FAA classifies the Osprey as a model of powered lift aircraft.

Contents

Development

The Department of Defense began the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) aircraft program in 1981, first under U.S. Army leadership, then the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps later took the lead.34 The JVX combined requirements from the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and Navy.56 A request for proposals (RFP) was issued in December 1982 for JVX preliminary design work. Interest in the program was expressed by Aérospatiale, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Vertol, Grumman, Lockheed, and Westland. The DoD pushed for contractors to form teams. Bell partnered with Boeing Vertol. The Bell Boeing team submitted a proposal for a enlarged version of the Bell XV-15 prototype on 17 February 1983. This was the only proposal received.7

The JVX aircraft was designated "V-22 Osprey" on 15 January 1985. The USMC variant received the MV-22 designation and the Air Force variant received CV-22. This was reversed from normal procedure to prevent Marine Ospreys from having similar designations as aircraft carriers (CV).8 Full-scale development of the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft began in 1986.1

Early concept illustrations of V-22

The V-22 was developed and is built jointly by Bell Helicopter, which manufactures and integrates the wing, nacelles, rotors, drive system, tail surfaces, and aft ramp, as well as integrates the Rolls-Royce engines, and Boeing Helicopters, which manufactures and integrates the fuselage, cockpit, avionics, and flight controls. Portions of the aircraft are manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Grand Prairie, Texas, and Fort Worth, Texas. Final assembly, flight testing, and delivery occurs in Amarillo, Texas. The joint development team is known as Bell Boeing.910

The first of six MV-22 prototypes first flew on 19 March 1989 in the helicopter mode and on 14 September 1989 as a fixed-wing plane. The third and fourth prototypes successfully completed the Osprey's first Sea Trials on the USS Wasp in December 1990. However, the fourth and fifth prototypes crashed in 1990-91. Flight tests were resumed in August 1993 after changes were incorporated in the prototypes.1

Flight testing of four full-scale development V-22s began in early 1997 when the first pre-production V-22 was delivered to the Naval Air Warfare Test Center, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The first EMD Flight took place on 5 February 1997. The first of four low-rate initial production aircraft, ordered on 28 April 1997, was delivered on 27 May 1999. Osprey number 10 completed the program's second Sea Trials, this time from the USS Saipan in January 1999.1 During external load testing in April 1999, Boeing used a V-22 to lift and transport the M777 howitzer.11 In 2000, Boeing announced that the V-22 would be fitted with a nose-mounted GAU-19 Gatling gun,12 but the GAU-19 gun was later cancelled.13

In 2000, there were two further fatal crashes, killing a total of 19 Marines, and the production was again halted while the cause of these crashes was investigated and various parts were redesigned.14

V-22 in flight.

The V-22 completed its final operational evaluation in June 2005.15 The evaluation was deemed successful; events included long range deployments, high altitude, desert and shipboard operations. It was claimed that the problems identified in various accidents had been addressed by the V-22 program office.

On 28 September 2005, the Pentagon formally approved full-rate production for the V-22. The plan was to boost production from 11 a year to between 24 and 48 a year by 2012. Planned production quantities include 360 for the Marine Corps, 48 for the Navy, and 50 for the Air Force. The U.S. Army, originally the lead service for the then-named JVX program, is a possible candidate for use.

A total of 458 V-22s are expected to be built for the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, at an average cost of $110 million per aircraft, including development costs.1 The V-22 had an incremental flyaway cost of $70 million per aircraft in 2007,2 but the Navy hopes to shave about $10 million off that cost after a five-year production contract starts in 2008.16

Israel has shown interest in the purchase of an undisclosed number of MV-22s, but an order has not been placed or approved.1718

Controversy

The V-22's development process has been long and controversial. When the development budget, first projected at $2.5 billion in 1986, increased to $30 billion in 1988, then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney tried to zero out its funding. He was eventually overruled by Congress.14 As of September 2007, the Osprey program spent $20 billion over 25 years of development, and will require another $35 billion from the Pentagon before the program is completed.13

The V-22 squadron's former commander at Marine Corps Air Station New River, Lieutenant Colonel Odin Lieberman, was relieved of duty in 2001 after allegations that he instructed his unit that they needed to falsify maintenance records to make the plane appear more reliable.1

The aircraft is incapable of autorotation in the case of engine failure, a fact that led a director of the Pentagon's testing office in 2005 to say that if the Osprey loses power while flying like a helicopter below 1,600 feet (490 m), emergency landings "are not likely to be survivable". But Captain Justin (Moon) McKinney, a V-22 pilot, says that this will not be a problem, "We can turn it into a plane and glide it down, just like a C-130".13 A complete loss of power would require the failure of both engines, as a drive shaft connects the nacelles through the wing; one engine can power both proprotors.19

It was planned in 2000 to equip all V-22s with a nose-mounted gatling gun, to provide "the V-22 with a strong defensive firepower capability to greatly increase the aircraft's survivability in hostile actions."12 But the nose gun project was cancelled, leading to criticism by retired Marine Corps Commandant General James L. Jones, who is not satisfied with the current V-22 armament.13

With the first combat deployment of the MV-22 in October 2007, Time Magazine ran an article condemning the aircraft as unsafe, overpriced, and completely inadequate.13 The Marine Corps, however, responded with the assertion that much of the article's data were dated, obsolete, inaccurate, and reflected expectations that ran too high for any new field of aircraft.20

Design

United States Marines MV-22B

The Osprey is the world's first production tiltrotor aircraft, with one three-bladed proprotor, turboprop engine, and transmission nacelle mounted on each wingtip. For takeoff and landing, it typically operates as a helicopter with the nacelles vertical (rotors horizontal). Once airborne, the nacelles rotate forward 90° in as little as 12 seconds for horizontal flight, converting the V-22 to a more fuel-efficient, higher-speed turboprop airplane. STOL rolling-takeoff and landing capability is achieved by having the nacelles tilted forward up to 45°. For compact storage and transport, the V-22's wing rotates to align, front-to-back, with the fuselage. The proprotors can also fold in a sequence taking 90 seconds.21

First production Osprey to join the V-22 Navy flight test program since resumption of flight evaluations in May 2002. Aircraft is shown in compact storage configuration.

The V-22 is equipped with a glass cockpit, which incorporates four Multi-Function Displays (MFDs) and one shared Central Display Unit (CDU), allowing the pilots to display a variety of images including: digimaps centered or decentered on current position, FLIR imagery, primary flight instruments, navigation (TACAN, VOR, ILS, GPS, INS), and system status. The flight director panel of the Cockpit Management System (CMS) allows for fully-coupled (aka: autopilot) functions which will take the aircraft from forward flight into a 50-foot hover with no pilot interaction other than programming the system.22

The V-22 is a fly-by-wire aircraft with triple-redundant flight control systems. With the nacelles pointing straight up in conversion mode at 90° the flight computers command the aircraft to fly like a helicopter, with cyclic forces being applied to a conventional swashplate at the rotor hub. With the nacelles in airplane mode (0°) the flaperons, rudder, and elevator fly the aircraft like an airplane. This is a gradual transition which occurs over the entire 96° range of the nacelles. The lower the nacelles, the greater effect of the airplane-mode control surfaces.

M240 machine gun mounted on V-22 loading ramp.

The Osprey is armed with one .308 in (7.62 mm) caliber machine gun pointing rearward that can be fired when the loading ramp is lowered. A GAU-19 three-barrel .50 in (12.7 mm) gatling gun mounted below the V-22's nose has also been studied for future upgrade.1323 BAE Systems is also developing a remotely operated turreted weapons system for the V-22.24

Operational history

Two USAF CV-22s, landing at Holloman AFB, NM, 2006.

Marine Corps crew training on the Osprey has been conducted by VMMT-204 since March 2000. On 3 June 2005, the Marine Corps helicopter squadron Marine Medium Helicopter 263 (HMM-263), stood down to begin the process of transitioning to the MV-22 Osprey. On 8 December 2005, Lieutenant General Amos, commander of the II MEF, accepted the delivery of the first fleet of MV-22s, delivered to HMM-263. The unit reactivated on 3 March 2006 as the first MV-22 squadron and was redesignated VMM-263. On 31 August 2006, VMM-162 (the former HMM-162) followed suit.

The Air Force's first operational CV-22 Osprey 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 will become part of the 58th SOW's fleet of aircraft used for training pilots and crew members for special operations use.25

A MV-22 of VMM-162 in Iraq, April 2008.

The Osprey entered operational service with the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007, in some cases replacing existing CH-46 Sea Knight squadrons.26 On 23 March 2007, HMM-266 became Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (VMM-266) at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.27 On 13 April 2007, the U.S. Marine Corps announced that it would be sending ten V-22 aircraft to Iraq, the Osprey's first combat deployment. Marine Corps Commandant, General James Conway, indicated that over 150 Marines would accompany the Osprey set for September deployment to Al-Asad Airfield.2829

On 10 July 2007 an MV-22 Osprey landed aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious in the Atlantic Ocean. This marked the first time a V-22 had landed on any non-U.S. vessel.30

On 17 September 2007, ten MV-22Bs of VMM-263 left for Iraq aboard the USS Wasp. The decision to use a ship rather than use the Osprey's self-deployment capability was made because of concerns over icing during the North Atlantic portion of the trip, lack of available KC-130s for mid-air refueling, and the availability of the USS Wasp.31

Crew members refuel an MV-22 before a night mission in central Iraq, February 2008.

The Osprey has provided support in Iraq, racking up some 2000 flight hours over three months with a mission capable availability rate of 68.1% as of late-January 2008.32 They are primarily used in Iraq's western Anbar province for routine cargo and troop movements, and also for riskier "aero-scout" missions. General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, used one to fly around Iraq on Christmas Day 2007 to visit troops.33 Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama also flew in Ospreys during his high profile 2008 tour of Iraq.34

The only major problem has been obtaining the necessary spare parts to maintain the aircraft.35 Minor problems included the engines wearing quicker than desired, on four occasions V-22s at forward bases were grounded until repairs could be made to the oil cooling systems.citation needed As of July 2008, the V-22 had flown 3,000 sorties totaling 5,200 hours in Iraq.36

Variants

CV-22A 
Air Force aircraft used as a transport from land bases.37
HV-22 
The planned, but not-yet-funded, U.S. Navy HV-22 will provide combat search and rescue, delivery and retrieval of special warfare teams along with fleet logistic support transport.38
MV-22B 
Basic U.S. Marine Corps transport; original requirement for 552 (now 360). The Marine Corps is the lead service in the development of the V-22 Osprey. The Marine Corps variant, the MV-22B, is an assault transport for troops, equipment and supplies, capable of operating from ships or from expeditionary airfields ashore. It is replacing the Marine Corps' CH-46E27 and CH-53D.
Osprey at NAS Pensacola, November 2006
CV-22B 
Operated by the Air Force for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), will conduct long-range, special operations missions, and is equipped with extra fuel tanks.39 The Air Force officially accepted the CV-22 on 16 November 2006 in a ceremony conducted at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida.40

Operators

 United States

Notable accidents

Main article: Accidents and incidents involving the V-22 Osprey
A U.S. V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft flies a test mission

From 1991 to 2000 there were four significant crashes during testing:14

Since becoming operational in 2006, the V-22 has had seven other notable, but minor incidents.

Specifications (MV-22B)

A MV-22 Osprey carries an HMMWV

Data from Boeing Integrated Defense Systems,41 Naval Air Systems Command,42 and CV-22 Air Force Fact Sheet.43

General characteristics

Performance

Popular culture

Two CV-22s (of only three in the USAF inventory at the time)44 were filmed in flight at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, in May 2006 for the 2007 Transformers film.4546

V-22s, particularly MV-22s play prominent roles in several novels by Dale Brown, most particularly, Hammerheads which features an MV-22 on the cover.47

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft", CRS Report for Congress, 23 August 2006.
  2. ^ a b (February 2008). "FY 2009 Budget Estimates" (PDF). p. 133 United States Air Force.
  3. ^ Moyers, Al (Director of History and Research) (1 August 2007). "The Long Road: AFOTEC's Two-Plus Decades of V-22 Involvement". Headquarters Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, United States Air Force.
  4. ^ "Chapter 9: Research, Development, and Acquisition". Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1982, Center of Military History (CMH), United States Army. 1988. ISSN 0092-7880, http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1982/ch09.htm. 
  5. ^ Norton 2004, pp. 22-30.
  6. ^ "AIAA-83-2726, Bell-Boeing JVX Tilt Rotor Program", American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 16-18 November 1983.
  7. ^ Norton 2004, pp. 31-33.
  8. ^ Norton 2004, p. 30.
  9. ^ "V-22 Osprey: Overview". Integrated Defense Systems, Boeing.
  10. ^ "The Bell-Boeing V-22". Military Aircraft. Bell Helicopter (2007).
  11. ^ Boeing (3 May 1999). "V-22 Lifts 155 mm Howitzer". Press release.
  12. ^ a b "BB selects turreted gun system for V-22" (PDF). Osprey Facts (Boeing) 11 (7): 2. 14 September 2000, http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/v22/tilttimes/sep00.pdf. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f Thompson, Mark (26 September 2007). "V-22 Osprey: A Flying Shame". Time, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1665835-1,00.html. 
  14. ^ a b c Berler, Ron (July 2005). "Saving the Pentagon's Killer Chopper-Plane". Wired (CondéNet, Inc) 13 (7), http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/osprey.html?pg=1&topic=osprey. Retrieved on 8 February 2008. 
  15. ^ Castelli, Christopher J. (12 September 2005). "Pentagon Testing Office Concurs With Naval Testers, Supports MV-22". Inside the Navy (Naval Air Systems Command, United States Navy), http://www.navair.navy.mil/V22/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.detail&id=130. 
  16. ^ Christie, Rebecca (31 May 2007). "DJ US Navy Expects Foreign Interest In V-22 To Ramp Up Next Year", Dow Jones Newswires, Naval Air Systems Command, United States Navy. 
  17. ^ Ben-David, Alon (25 January 2006). "Israel considers V-22 acquisition", Jane's Defence Weekly, Jane's Information Group. 
  18. ^ "Israel confirms interest in Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor", Flight International, 25 October 2007.
  19. ^ "V-22 Osprey: Propulsion System". GlobalSecurity.org.
  20. ^ Hoellwarth, John (16 October 2007). "Leaders, experts slam Time article on Osprey", Marine Corps Times, Army Times Publishing Company. 
  21. ^ Currie, Major Tom P., Jr., USAF (April 1999). "The CV-22 'Osprey' and the Impact on Air Force Combat Search and Rescue" (PDF). A Research Report Submitted to the Faculty, In Partial Fulfillment of the Graduation Requirements. Air Command and Staff College.
  22. ^ Ringenbach, Daniel P. and Scott Brick (7 August 2005), "Hardware-in-the-loop testing for development and integration of the V-22 autopilot system" (PDF), AIAA Flight Simulation Technologies Conference Technical Papers (A95-39235 10-01), Baltimore, MD: AIAA, pp. 28–36, http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1995/PV1995_3385.pdf, retrieved on 3 August 2008 
  23. ^ "Defensive Armament for the V-22 Selection, Integration, and Development" (PDF). Bell Helicopter and General Dynamics.
  24. ^ BAE Systems (2 October 2007). "BAE Systems Launches New V-22 Defensive Weapon System, Begins On-The-Move Testing". Press release.
  25. ^ Carter, Chelsea J. (18 March 2008). "Miramar Base to Get Osprey Squadrons", Associated Press), USA Today. 
  26. ^ a b Tabb, Cpl. Jonathan A. "VMM-266 third ‘Osprey’ squadron to stand-up". US Marine Corps Press Release, 23 March 2007.
  27. ^ Mount, Mike (14 April 2007). "Marines to deploy tilt-rotor aircraft to Iraq", CNN.com. Retrieved on 19 April 2007. 
  28. ^ "Controversial Osprey aircraft heading to Iraq; Marines bullish on hybrid helicopter-plane despite past accidents", MSNBC (13 April 2007). Retrieved on 3 August 2008. 
  29. ^ "MV-22 Osprey Lands On UK Aircraft Carrier For First Time". Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), United States Navy (11 July 2007). Retrieved on 26 November 2008.
  30. ^ Whittle, Richard (1 October 2007). "Military/Utility: Osprey Heads to Iraq". Rotor & Wing, http://www.aviationtoday.com/rw/issue/features/16153.html. 
  31. ^ II MAW (FWD) PAO (23 January 2008). "MV-22 ‘Osprey’ brings new capabilities to the sandbox", U.S. Marine Corps. 
  32. ^ Mount, Mike (8 February 2008). "Maligned aircraft finds redemption in Iraq, military says", CNN.com. Retrieved on 8 February 2008. 
  33. ^ Hambling, David (31 July 2008). "Osprey's 'Excellent Photo Op'". Wired, http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/07/httpwwwaviati-1.html. Retrieved on 6 August 2008. 
  34. ^ Warwick, Graham (7 February 2008). "US Marine Corps says V-22 Osprey performing well in Iraq", Flightglobal. Retrieved on 10 February 2008. 
  35. ^ Hoyle, Craig (22 July 2008). "USMC eyes Afghan challenge for V-22 Osprey". Flight International, http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/07/22/225803/farnborough-2008-usmc-eyes-afghan-challenge-for-v-22.html. Retrieved on 25 November 2008. 
  36. ^ (12 May 2004). "Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles" (PDF). Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. DoD 4120.15-L
  37. ^ "V-22 Osprey: HV-22 Navy Variant". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 3 August 2008.
  38. ^ "MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor assault troop carrier". U.S. Naval Institute.
  39. ^ "CV-22 arrival". Hulbert Field, United States Air Force (20 April 2006). Retrieved on 20 November 2006.
  40. ^ "V-22 Osprey: Technical Specifications". Integrated Defense Systems, Boeing. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
  41. ^ "V-22 Characteristics". V22 Osprey Web. Naval Air Systems Command. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
  42. ^ "CV-22 Osprey". Air Force Link. United States Air Force (November 2007). Retrieved on 3 August 2008.
  43. ^ Scalf, Russell (26 May 2006). "Ospreys in flight". United States Air Force.
  44. ^ Ponder, Arlan (5 June 2006). "Movie project transforms Holloman", 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, United States Air Force. 
  45. ^ Simmons, Larry A. (3 July 2007). "'Transformers' put Airmen, aircraft on big screen", Air Force News Agency, United States Air Force. 
  46. ^ Born, Dale (1991). Hammerheads, Berkley Books. ISBN 0425126455, http://books.google.com/books?id=w3QmgHta0jMC&q=Hammerheads+Dale+Brown&dq=Hammerheads+Dale+Brown&ei=yGssSc6uBozckASdrLGwBQ&pgis=1. Retrieved on 25 November 2008. 

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