V-22 Osprey is going to war - will it kill more occupants than opponents?

[Ezlivin]

The Washington Post reports that the V-22 is heading to Iraq in September.

After more than 20 years in development at a cost of billions of dollars, the long-troubled V-22 Osprey will head to Iraq in September for its first combat missions, the Marine Corps said yesterday.

The tilt-rotor Osprey, a helicopter-airplane hybrid, has survived attempts by the Pentagon leadership to cancel it, criticism of its rising cost and unique design, and three fatal accidents since 1992. The aircraft, made by Bell Helicopter and Boeing, can take off, land and hover like a helicopter, then turn its rotors to fly straight ahead like a conventional plane. It will operate out of al-Asad air base in central Iraq for seven months. Source

I believe that this aircraft will not do well in combat and probably will only see limited action. It has a history of unreliability and safety problems. The V-22 has exhibited serious problems with its hydraulic systems and is susceptible to Vortex Ring State.

[Rick Myers]

1. We're gonna cut out the middleman

And start killing our own troops!!!

:grr:

[karlrschneider]

2. I've flown a bunch of weird aircraft but I guarantee I would not even RIDE in one of

those abortions.
:scared:

[spanone]

4. here's the positive skinny from Boeing themselves....

http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/v22.html

here's the part they don't tell ya

Osprey crashes have resulted in 30 deaths
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/weapons/a/osprey.htm

[Ezlivin]

6. I shared a runway with the V-22

I was getting my pilot's license out at Arlington Municipal Airport back in 1993 and the runway I used was also used by Bell Helicopter. I've had the luck to fly "in formation" with a V-22 over several miles. The damned thing dwarfed my Piper!

I think it's a very impressive aircraft, but not one that I would like to pilot.

[T Wolf]

3. must justify the billions in development costs. what's a few more dead

killers in the scheme of things?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. heh, I can see it now.

three crashes from now, the Pentagon is seeking another 6.5 billion to fix a minor design flaw in the V-22, to make it more survivable in desert conditions. "It is a fine machine, but like all brand new systems, there are some growing pains. A little tweeking is all we need."