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V-22 Osprey Joint Program Office
Press Release #2206-005
Date: 16 June, 2006
Contact: James Darcy, V-22 Public Affairs Officer, 301-757-6634
Marine Corps Ospreys “writing the book” on long-range deploymentsPATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Marine Corps crews successfully completed two non-stop, coast-to-coast flights this week with a pair of MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, as a precursor to a transatlantic flight to England with the same Ospreys in July.
The Marine Corps is conducting the long-distance flights to develop tactics, techniques and procedures for long-range, over-water movements of MV-22s, in preparation for the first combat deployment in 2007.
“Unlike conventional rotary wing aircraft, which must be transported into overseas theaters of operation aboard amphibious shipping or heavy lift transport planes, the V-22 can self-deploy thousands of miles over water to get itself to the fight,” said Col. Bill Taylor, V-22 Osprey joint program manager.
That ability was proven during operational evaluation in 2005, when the Osprey demonstrated a projected range of more than 2,600 nautical miles on a single aerial refueling. The MV-22 can be configured with up to three mission auxiliary tanks in the cabin to enable these kinds of ranges.
Marine Tiltrotor Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) launched two Ospreys from their home at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., Monday, landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., nine hours and 2,100 nautical miles later. They returned to New River Thursday, making that flight in just eight hours. Altitudes on the flights ranged from 14,000 to 16,000 feet, with sustained ground speeds between 240 and 300 knots.
The aircraft were configured with two of the three available auxiliary fuel tanks. The VMX-22 crews completed two aerial refuelings en route with KC-130J tankers from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252), to further validate the Osprey’s long-range fuel system capabilities in support of future combat deployments.
“We didn’t have to do two aerial refuelings, but we wanted to fill up those [auxiliary fuel tanks] and burn them out a couple times, to increase our experience with the systems,” said Lt. Col. Chris Seymour, VMX-22 executive officer and pilot of one of the two Ospreys. “The flights have gone extremely well.”
“The mission planning computer systems onboard that help us manage our long range flights were accurate within a quarter percent of predicted performance,” said Col. Glenn Walters, VMX-22 commanding officer. Actual flight time, for example, was just three minutes off from the predicted flight time, on a trip of more than 2,000 miles. “That gives us a great deal of confidence in over-water flights … enabling us to make good decisions on how to get long distances,” he said.
This week’s overland flights were structured as rehearsals for the transatlantic deployment to England in July. VMX-22 will depart from Goose Bay, Newfoundland, July 10, flying direct to Great Britain along with two tankers from VMGR-252.
Once across the ocean, the aircraft will be turned over under a lease agreement to manufacturer Bell Boeing, who will operate the aircraft in the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough International Air Show July 14-23. Farnborough and the Tattoo will be the Osprey’s first international air show appearances since 1995.
The Marine Corps, however, is interested in other firsts.
“This will be the first time that an assault support aircraft has ever flown across the Atlantic,” Taylor said. It will also be the first time in more than 20 years that Marine Corps KC-130s have supported a transatlantic deployment, he said.
“This is invaluable as far as establishing the tactics, techniques and procedures for these types of missions in coordination with the KC-130s,” Seymour said. “We’re writing the book on how to do this.”
The Marine Corps is using the opportunity to fly to England as a prudent first step to gain experience and refine skills, Taylor said, before VMM-263 takes the aircraft across the ocean into a theater of battle.
In March, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) was established as the world’s first tiltrotor combat squadron. They began receiving Ospreys in May, and will deploy with the MV-22 after the aircraft reaches initial operational capability in summer 2007.
Under the current program of record, the Marine Corps will purchase 360 MV-22s for missions including amphibious assault, ship-to-objective maneuver and sustained operations ashore. The Ospreys will ultimately replace all CH-46E and CH-53D helicopters for the Corps, delivering twice the speed and three to five times the range as those platforms. Manufacturer Bell Boeing began delivering the Block B combat configuration of the Osprey in December 2005.
Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald C. Winter flew with VMX-22 earlier this year, to evaluate the aircraft first hand.
“The significance of this program to the Naval services is not about hardware or technology,” Winter said. “It’s about what it will mean to our people. The Osprey can deliver Marines to battle more safely, bring them reinforcements over greater distances in greater numbers, and evacuate wounded more quickly. That all equates to lives saved, as we continue to prosecute the global war on terrorism.”
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FILE PHOTO ATTACHED: An MV-22 Osprey closes on a KC-130J tanker for aerial refueling. (U.S. Navy photo by Noel Hepp.)
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DEFENSE DAILY 30 JUN 06
Keeping Legacy Helicopters Flying In Iraq Is A Big Priority For Marine CorpsBy Geoff Fein
Maintaining legacy aircraft, such as the Sikorsky [UTX] CH-53E Super Stallion and the Boeing [BA] CH-46 Sea Knight, in order to sustain the fight in Iraq is a top priority for the Marine Corps, the head of Marine Corps aviation said.
"We are paying a lot of attention to legacy aircraft. I am a Frog (CH-46) pilot myself. When I started flying the Frog it had already been combat deployed for 10 years," Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, deputy commandant for aviation told Defense Daily in a recent interview.
"When I leave, it's still going to be flying 10 years after I am gone. So we have the potential for the aircraft to be flying 50 years. Maintaining the capability for it until we get the V-22 in will be a challenge," he said. "But I have to tell you I flew in a Frog in Iraq [four] weeks ago along with the Commandant (Gen. Michael Hagee), it remains a viable aircraft. Its capabilities are reduced in terms of what we want it to do, but it's going to be a flyable, capable aircraft until we get the V-22 in."
The first V-22 Squadron will head for Iraq next year. Castellaw said the Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT]–Boeing-built Osprey tiltrotor aircraft will bring much needed capability to the Marines.
For example, to take a reinforced rifle company, which can be 180 people, from Al Asad, the main base in Western Iraq to Al Qa'im near the border with Syria, takes 2 hours and 15 minutes using a squadron of 12 CH-46s, Castellaw explained.
"A Frog can only carry about eight people in those conditions. A V-22 squadron, and not even a full squadron, lets say we are going to take eight birds, eight birds can do that same mission in 17 minutes flying at 240 knots and up to 13,000 feet," he said. "So instead of being in the threat envelop for 2 hours and 15 minutes which is what the (CH-46) is, you are only in for a handful of minutes with the V-22."
That is because within about five to six minutes the V-22 will be at 13,000 feet and it can come down in four and a half minutes and be in the zone from 13,000 feet, Castellaw said.
"So you can see with that aircraft, not only do we have a great increase in range and payload and time reduction in doing things, but we greatly increase the reduction of threat exposure to those people," he noted.
The Marine Corps is also looking ahead to when the CH-53K replaces the CH-53E (also built by Sikorsky), which is being used for missions other than it is intended, Castellaw said.
"Because the Frog (CH-46) is limited in its range and payload capability, what we've had to do is use the 53E in a lot of those missions," he said. "Whereas you would think of the 53E doing stuff over 10,000 pounds and doing those type of heavy lift missions, it has migrated to the left because the Frog can only do about 4,000 to 5,000 pounds and go only about 200 miles. So we have seen that migration of the 53E into the medium assault role."
When the V-22 Osprey gets deployed next year, Castellaw said there is going to be a "migration to the right of what we are going to do with the medium [lift helicopter]."
"As we go to the sea based concept and as we look at how the ground element is going to be composed, I think a lot of the lessons learned during the present fracas is that we need a seat for every butt, Humvee, LAV (Light Armored Vehicle), whatever the future vehicles is going to be," Castellaw said. "And that is going to require additional logistical support. Therefore, that is why the 53K is going to be so critical. We will to have to support that, get stuff ashore, and sustain it after that, so the role of the 53K in that 10,000 pounds and above is going to get larger. The V-22 will fill the 10,000 and below."
The Marine Corps will continue to fly the CH-53E even though the service knows it is moving toward 40 hours of direct maintenance. Castellaw added that is getting pretty expensive.
"But we need it and we have to keep it until we get the 53K in which will be less expensive and more capable," he said.
Général de division aérienne
Sincèrement entre le V22 starring et la fin de mes examens écrits, j'ai eu une journée pas mauvaise hier 
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