Posts tagged as:

V-22

How, exactly, will the MV-22 Osprey–and other new Navy/USMC gear–help at home? It’s a valid question–Waaay back in 2010-11, when the MV-22 first started to shoulder aside the West Coast’s enormous inventory of venerable, obsolete CH-46 Sea Knights, I started urging the military to get real about evaluating the MV-22’s suitability for HA-DR operations typical […]

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Back in late December of 2013, after ground fire somewhere in South Sudan bloodied a CV-22 flight and forced an ambitious Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) to abort with four injuries, I detailed how the V-22’s Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS) origins–and resulting inability to adequately suppress ground fire and lack of armor–made the platform […]

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So…the CV-22 Osprey chalks up more combat experience in South Sudan, with three CV-22 Osprey aircraft apparently taking ground fire on descent into what was probably the Osprey’s first noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO). Four of the approximately 46 aboard were reportedly hurt, and the Ospreys aborted their mission and diverted to an alternative landing zone. […]

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MV-22: General Trautman, your job is on Line 1…

by Craig Hooper on July 23, 2010

According to this DOD Buzz article, Lt. General George J. Trautman III voiced his frustration that MV-22 Osprey readiness rates in Afghanistan had topped out at “roughly 70 percent.” Glad to see Trautman get frustrated. As a taxpayer, I am too. I expect better performance from brand-new aircraft. According to the DOD Buzz piece, Trautman […]

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Osprey Downdraft: MV-22 Wounds 10 at NYC Fleet Week

by Craig Hooper on May 31, 2010

I’ll post more on the unfortunate MV-22 NY Fleet Week accident (downdraft from an incoming Osprey blew down tree limbs that, in turn, wounded spectators–the videos here are great) in a bit, but I just wanted to remind people that the strong MV-22 downdraft is an important limitation–and, as such, it leads to operational issues […]

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PR games after MV-22 Osprey starts (another) grassfire…

by Craig Hooper on February 21, 2010

The V-22 Osprey program has a magical ability to generate “good news” just as “bad news” breaks. This PR gamesmanship has happened before.  Back in 2007, just hours after the MV-22 Osprey flubbed it’s arrival into Iraq, a CV-22 was sent out for a domestic SAR.  (Here are some details) This week, an MV-22 Osprey […]

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MV-22 Ospreys: Not helpful at home?

by Craig Hooper on January 3, 2010

Can the MV-22 Osprey help at home? Read my latest piece over at the North Country Times/The Californian. Some lessons here: First, where’s the utility? Notice how the Marine Corps has been trying to change the program narrative?  By saying that the MV-22 should no longer be considered a replacement for CH-46 helicopters–but approached as an entirely different kind of platform? In […]

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