V-22 Osprey safety record looks worse than we were told.

[skyking]

It comes into play quite often. lower the nose just a little bit and keep the power up, and you can get there in a hurry in many aircraft. Mine will get up into the yellow arc in level flight, and VNE is easy to get to under a normal descent.

 

[BladeVenom]

I don't know why you guys are going on about weaponry on a transport helicopter. How many weapon systems does a Chinook have?

"Armament
up to 3 pintle mounted medium machine guns (1 on loading ramp and 2 at shoulder windows), generally 7.62 mm (0.308 in) M240/FN MAG machine guns"
-wikipedia

Then there was the upgunned, ACH-47A:
The ACH-47A carried five M60D 7.62x51 mm machine guns or M2HB .50 caliber machine guns, provided by the XM32 and XM33 armament subsystems, two M24A1 20 mm cannons, two XM159B/XM159C 19-Tube 2.75 in rocket launchers or sometimes two M18/M18A1 7.62×51 mm gun pods, and a single M75 40 mm grenade launcher in the XM5/M5 armament subsystem (more commonly seen on the UH-1 series of helicopters).

 

[werepossum]

"Armament
up to 3 pintle mounted medium machine guns (1 on loading ramp and 2 at shoulder windows), generally 7.62 mm (0.308 in) M240/FN MAG machine guns"
-wikipedia

Then there was the upgunned, ACH-47A:
The ACH-47A carried five M60D 7.62x51 mm machine guns or M2HB .50 caliber machine guns, provided by the XM32 and XM33 armament subsystems, two M24A1 20 mm cannons, two XM159B/XM159C 19-Tube 2.75 in rocket launchers or sometimes two M18/M18A1 7.62×51 mm gun pods, and a single M75 40 mm grenade launcher in the XM5/M5 armament subsystem (more commonly seen on the UH-1 series of helicopters).

I think a better choice for the Osprey would be door gunners - the pilots have more than enough on which to concentrate as it is. In the end, though, you really don't want your transport helicopters sticking around to shoot it out.

And A-10s would be a great escort if you can convince them to fly under five or ten thousand feet. Otherwise they're more dangerous to you. Probably Apaches would be best, but having to stage them wipes out much of the advantages of the Osprey.

 

[Nintendesert]

I think a better choice for the Osprey would be door gunners - the pilots have more than enough on which to concentrate as it is. In the end, though, you really don't want your transport helicopters sticking around to shoot it out.

And A-10s would be a great escort if you can convince them to fly under five or ten thousand feet. Otherwise they're more dangerous to you. Probably Apaches would be best, but having to stage them wipes out much of the advantages of the Osprey.

The USMC doesn't field Apaches. The future is something like

http://www.sikorsky.com/Innovation/Vision+of+the+future/Technologies/X2+Technology

That will be able to keep up and escort an Osprey into the battlespace and provide the close air support only an attack helicopter such as the Cobra can provide.

 

[Dman8777]

Does this remind anyone else of Pentagon Wars?

 

[tynopik]

I think a better choice for the Osprey would be door gunners

The engines get in the way

and you definitely don't want your own gunners accidentally hitting the engines

which is what will happen if it's possible

 

[werepossum]

The USMC doesn't field Apaches. The future is something like

http://www.sikorsky.com/Innovation/Vision+of+the+future/Technologies/X2+Technology

That will be able to keep up and escort an Osprey into the battlespace and provide the close air support only an attack helicopter such as the Cobra can provide.

True, or A-10s. Those Super Snakes are pretty cool though, and arguably that 20mm chain gun offers better standoff capabilities, less frag radius but more range. They already have superior range and combat redundancy, they just need updated avionics. Marines could support their Ospreys with Harriers though, which can do double duty as CAP or ground attack. The Air Force are the one in a pickle, as their choppers aren't fast enough and their jets can't be slow enough, or fly low enough.

I like the Sikorsky tech demonstrator, but I don't think a coaxial twin rotor can be as fast as a tilt rotor; the leading edge of the rotor blade limits speed. I'm not sure such a craft would be practical in a cargo helicopter like a 53 or an Osprey either. I think though that a conventional single rotor chopper like the Ch-53E or Blackhawk could gain a significant speed boost using a push rotor, with side force and maneuverability added though vectoring the thrust.

The engines get in the way

and you definitely don't want your own gunners accidentally hitting the engines

which is what will happen if it's possible

Another good point. A few 12mm rounds into the engine at from point blank range could definitely ruin your day.

 

[duragezic]

there is an optional belly turret that is installed on some

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/baes-turret-to-trial-in-cv-22s-04618/

I used to work at BAE Systems at the site that developed the Remote Guardian System. Pretty neat. The setup was like a game console. Though they never let me fire it.

They developed it because of course the Osprey wasn't designed with any weapon except that rear ramp one, and some people thought that was very bad. So the idea is the 360° movement would be good and could be used to clear a landing zone before it lands. The system has restricted movement so a gunner not paying attention doesn't start blasting through the fuselage.

I know it's been deployed on some of the V-22's in Afghanistan, but I never heard how well it worked for them.

 

[William Gaatjes]

For those interested an easy to watch V22 osprey documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfDL_cqjD3o

 

[rudder]

I don't care what political bullshit people spread to whine about the Osprey program. I flew all over Iraq and Afghanistan in the back of them and it's easily the best aircraft the Marines have. It blows the old POS 46 away and is better than the 53 too. I absolutely love the Osprey.

It is interesting that the Marine Corps did not want the thing when it was presented early on. One of the arguments was that unlike a helicopter, the Osprey has a much longer range and could potentially take troops further away from available support.

Article from 2001:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...90234_1_v-22-marine-corps-fixed-wing-airplane

It is interesting to hear from your perspective. Did you get a chance to talk with the pilots?

 

[Daverino]