Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Dallas Morning News
May 3, 2008 By Brendan McKenna, The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, built in Fort Worth and Amarillo, performed superbly in their first combat missions, the U.S. Marines, which flew the sometimes controversial craft in Iraq, said Friday.
Lt. Col. Paul Rock, the commander of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, who returned from Iraq last week, said he was proud of the hybrid helicopter-airplanes and those who flew them.
"We did the full spectrum of what the aircraft was meant to do," he said. "It was very satisfying to see how well it performed."
The Osprey is built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. in partnership with a Boeing Co. division near Philadelphia.
The Osprey's design, which allows it to fly quickly like a normal airplane then switch to helicopter mode to land, proved its worth on the two occasions it came under fire, Col. Rock said.
"One was small arms and one was a rocket," he said.
"In neither case did they come anywhere close to the aircraft."
"We were already moving so fast that you can't effectively employ a small-caliber machine gun at the kind of speeds we were moving," he said.
"Somebody's opportunity to engage us is very short."
The machines logged less than a third of the repair time required to keep Vietnam-era CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters in the air, said Lt. Gen. George Trautman III, the Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation.
There were some technical problems during the deployment, such as the failure of electrical distribution systems for the sensors on a number of Ospreys in a short period.
But the Marines chalked that up to age and wear.
Iraq's dusty sands also did less damage to the rotors than occurred during training in Nevada
Gen. Trautman called the deployment a test but not "the final exam."
He said it validated the decision to buy roughly 30 more MV-22s each year until the Corps can phase out all of its Sea Knights.
Gen. Trautman said the Air Force Special Operations Command is "leaning forward" in plans to use a modified version of the Osprey, which may include the addition of a belly-mounted turret to give the aircraft a better field of fire.
Asked about the lack of a turret-mounted weapon on the Marine variant, Col. Rock quipped: "Never ask a Marine if he wants more guns on his airplane. More guns is good."
May 3, 2008 By Brendan McKenna, The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, built in Fort Worth and Amarillo, performed superbly in their first combat missions, the U.S. Marines, which flew the sometimes controversial craft in Iraq, said Friday.
Lt. Col. Paul Rock, the commander of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, who returned from Iraq last week, said he was proud of the hybrid helicopter-airplanes and those who flew them.
"We did the full spectrum of what the aircraft was meant to do," he said. "It was very satisfying to see how well it performed."
The Osprey is built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. in partnership with a Boeing Co. division near Philadelphia.
The Osprey's design, which allows it to fly quickly like a normal airplane then switch to helicopter mode to land, proved its worth on the two occasions it came under fire, Col. Rock said.
"One was small arms and one was a rocket," he said.
"In neither case did they come anywhere close to the aircraft."
"We were already moving so fast that you can't effectively employ a small-caliber machine gun at the kind of speeds we were moving," he said.
"Somebody's opportunity to engage us is very short."
The machines logged less than a third of the repair time required to keep Vietnam-era CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters in the air, said Lt. Gen. George Trautman III, the Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation.
There were some technical problems during the deployment, such as the failure of electrical distribution systems for the sensors on a number of Ospreys in a short period.
But the Marines chalked that up to age and wear.
Iraq's dusty sands also did less damage to the rotors than occurred during training in Nevada
Gen. Trautman called the deployment a test but not "the final exam."
He said it validated the decision to buy roughly 30 more MV-22s each year until the Corps can phase out all of its Sea Knights.
Gen. Trautman said the Air Force Special Operations Command is "leaning forward" in plans to use a modified version of the Osprey, which may include the addition of a belly-mounted turret to give the aircraft a better field of fire.
Asked about the lack of a turret-mounted weapon on the Marine variant, Col. Rock quipped: "Never ask a Marine if he wants more guns on his airplane. More guns is good."