Our friend Dave Montgomery has a story about the Osprey’s first deployment in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer:
The first combat squadron of tilt-rotor V-22 Ospreys has
quietly set off to Iraq, ushering a new and controversial form of aerial technology into 21st-century warfare. A Marine Corps aviation squadron and 10 Ospreys sailed for Iraq on Monday aboard a small Navy aircraft carrier known as an amphibious assault ship, said a Marine Corps spokesman, Maj. Eric Dent.The USS Wasp’s departure from the New River Marine Corps Air Station near Jacksonville, N.C., was made under tight security with no advance public notice and no ceremonial speeches by Marine Corps officials. “It was just another workday for the squadron,” Dent said.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, nicknamed “The Thunder Chickens,” will be based at the Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq for at least seven months of combat operations.The Marine Corps Ospreys, known as MV-22s, will be used to ferry Marines as well as cargo throughout the predominantly Sunni Anbar province. Dent, citing “operational security,” offered limited details about the deployment and said he was not allowed to discuss the timetable of the trip or scheduled arrival in Iraq. The V-22s could conceivably leave the Wasp en route and fly the rest of the way.
The “rest of the way” is presumably whatever distance remains once the Wasp inchops to the Persian Gulf … a couple hundred miles at best (or worst).
DT readers will remember the discussion here months ago about whether or not VMM-263 would “self deploy,” which is to say, fly over with tanker support. A Boeing official told us that after the program’s experience translanting two airplanes to the Farnborough Air Show — with one having to divert to Iceland enroute — the powers that be elected to use the traditional “fly aboard the amphib” method to get the squadron to theater.
Godspeed to the “Thunder Chickens.” We’ll be watching with great interest.
– Ward
God bless em. May they fly fast, shoot strait, and avoid enemy fire.
I don’t like the Osprey, it’s too expensive, with too many issues. That being said, I hope they prove me wrong.
Daaahh since when was MCAS New River a seaport? And did the USS Wasp pull into Morehead City to load alongside like so many “gator freighters” before it, OR did the ship anchor offshore in Onslow Bay and the sqaudron fly out to it?
An observation: Why did not the Navy put this squadron on an MSC ship and have it make a fast transit to theater? Instead of waiting around for a flat deck amphib? Probably would have got there quicker?
A brave new concept. I liked them so much I wrote about them in my novel “Firestorm”. You can see more about it at my Military.com column: http://www.military.com/Opinions/0„Archer_Index,00.html
Thunder Chickens?
How about Furious Kittens or Pecking TweetyBirds.
They are going via amphib to help work out the kinks in shipboard operations. While there has been testing for shipboard ops, this will be the first time a full squadron of these birds has been out to sea.
In all probability, they flew out to the Wasp which was off shore. The other alternatives are not very effective or efficient. Now, they have an operational squadron which could fulfill almost any contingency while on their way to their operating area (strategic flexibility). Expensive, yes, but you can also say that of all of our present day aircraft compared to the Wright Flyer. Big bucks gives you greater tactical AND strategic flexibility and effectiveness. Expect a casualty, and the resultant howling from folks that don’t understand what WAR and operational progress is all about.
I am very afraid of the osprey being vulnerable to silk worm missle attacks.If the enemy could shoot one of those planes down they would claim a significant victory. I used to read Proceedings Magazine and in there were a number of Marine corps casualties due to the fact that the technical kinks were not taken out of the Osprey. There may be a place for the Osprey but i am not so sure that it should be in Iraq/Afghanistan. Don’t get me wrong i am all for our military winning but they need superior equipment that works everytime without failure.
Excuse me, unless there has been a name change in the last 10 years, a “Silkworm” missile is an ANTISHIP missile, and couldn’t hit a helicopter or an Osprey unless it just happened to be flying in the way of a Silkworm being fired at a ship.
As for the “Anti-American”, don’t make us laugh. You and I both know that Russian military gear can’t hold a candle to American weaponry. Of course, the most important factor is the superior quality of our soldiers/Airmen/Sailors and Marines. The Russians spend too much time boozing it up on Vodka and beating each other up with Hazing to be much use to anyone.
Have a safe trip and shoot’em up…
This plane has a long and deadly history. I hope that the Marines using these aircraft in Iraq have a safe deployment and a successful mission and come home better for their experience. There is a new aircraft under development that will do everything the V-22 will do much safer and much faster. When a military version is developed we will be able to do anything we need, anywhere and American air superiority will keep us at the top.
Ok I’ll buy that the Marines have to work out the kinks in shipboard operation so the Ospreys needed to be lifted by a amphib vice get them there quicker.
I don’t think that the Ospreys are any more or less vunerable then any other transport helo to anti-aircraft missiles or something less. Maybe just maybe the two separate engines and composite structure will help that.
BUT no one can deny that these birds do not lift enough! The can’t lift the vehicles a H-46 can. The Marines are even designing a new jeep and mortar just for the Osprey! Maybe if its only mission was deep troop insertion that would be ok but that is not all the Osprey will be expected to do. As to hovering over a moving flight deck, I think there is a lot to be learned and maybe some more unfortunate losses in the process. Marines better keep them high and over land?!
I’m not sure this technology is what is needed on todays battlefields. I agree that the Osprey is “way” too expensive. Bring back the A-10 with proven record instead of testing old stuff or prove me wrong! God Bless America
I’d like to nominate the Thunder Chickens for the best new unit name of the last year(s). Very appropriate, very army-style and also PR worthy.
Not really sny more vulnerable than a Chinook or CH-53. Keep some Cobras close to the LZ.
“BUT no one can deny that these birds do not lift enough! The can’t lift the vehicles a H-46 can.“
Posted by: Lee Wahler at September 21, 2007 01:51 PM
“The MV-22 cannot carry sling loads, so what? Anything that does not fit within the Osprey, the Marines don’t want anyway. The Hummer is just too big, even before they started loading it up with armor due to experiences in Iraq.“
Posted by: Rupturduck at September 25, 2007 11:01 PM
One of the secondary benefits of Osprey threads is that so many people get exposed for being ignorant. Suggest you two view the following photos and then return here and correct your errors.
http://www.navair.navy.mil/v22/index.cfm?fuseaction=gallery.viewPhoto&id=25
http://www.navair.navy.mil/v22/index.cfm?fuseaction=gallery.viewPhoto&id=22