"Meet the V-22 Osprey’s Little Brother..." Topic

…Bell's Next Gen Tit-Rotor.

"It took three decades but the V-22 Osprey, the unique tilt-rotor hybrid aircraft, has outlived the stigma of its deadly testing years, avoided Defense Secretary's Dick Cheney's budget axe and proven itself worthy on the battlefield.

The half helicopter, half airplane vehicle makes little news anymore. For Bell Helicopter, that's good news. So, the end of the Afghanistan war couldn't be a better time to start planning for the next generation tilt-rotor. Meet the V-280, a medium-lift concept aircraft that Keith Flail, Bell's director of future vertical lift, said is the next best thing.

"This is exactly the kind of capability that DOD needs in the future," Flail told Defense One, at the AUSA 2013 convention in Washington…"

Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Re-invention of an old design:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XV-3

I know a couple of active duty marines who are still no fan of the Osprey and would rather their ride still be the CH47, even as dated as it is.

Hopefully this one will not prove as deadly to test as it's big brother.

Well not to be THAT guy but the Marine Corps does not field the CH-47 thats the Army we have the Ch-46, which is so old it's not even funny. I've been in a helo crash and it was the CH-46 and it was from the Nam era so the Osprey is very welcome. Any Marines who don't like the Osprey because of a couple of crashes then they need to tally the death toll from YEARS of Frogs crashing and killing Marines.

Isn't it the CH-46 where if it stops heavily leaking oil it is time to get worried?

Isn't it the CH-46 where if it stops heavily leaking oil it is time to get worried?

Yes, but that applies to EVERY naval aircraft. If it's not leaking, shut it down NOW, it's gone dry!

The Chinook had a bad reputation too. My father told me it would have taken a direct order from a general to get on board one of those things again. And they were less problem prone, I think?

Unfortunately the Osprey cost an arm and a leg to maintain and run. Helicopters or planes are cheaper for each hour of use. Maybe it would have been better to have saved the money and just have bought more helicopters and light planes to do the job.

I disagree, Doug. Ospreys are significantly faster and longer-ranged than helos, so they extend the reach of forces and can get reinforcements there faster.

The Army is generally prohibited from operating fixed-wing aircraft, I think the only exception is a C27 platoon airlifter. At least I think you can fit a platoon into a C27…

Lion, Nothing wrong with the Osprey, it is a great asset but don't sell the Chinooks short. The 47s are quite a bit more capable than the 60s or 46s and the models built in the last 10 years even more so.

check out the CH-47:
link
175 mph 45-ish troops, 21000 lbs

Osprey
link
290 mph, 30ish troops, 15000lbs

Range, both are capable of air-air refueling so no difference there.

Of course the Osprey can move faster. It is a hybrid plane/helicopter. Just that instead of spending all that money on research and buying, you could have bought a load of improved CHs and light planes to do the job.

The Marines have their own planes, and since the Osprey is a Marine vehicle how does the Army not operating wing aircraft matter?

The Marines have their own planes, and since the Osprey is a Marine vehicle how does the Army not operating wing aircraft matter?

Because the V280 is a contestant in the US Army's Blackhawk replacement program.

The CH47 wasn't supposed to be replaced by the Osprey. The Osprey replaced the CH46s and CH53Ds in USMC service. The big CH53Es are the heavy-lift helos for the Marines, and the CH53K is an even bigger version (wider cabin, much more horsepower and payload) of the 53E.

Lion in the stars, the prohibition only applies to armed fixed-wing aircraft. The Army flies tons of liaison and tactical airlift birds, and a few odd ECM platforms.