The Most Controversial US Military Aircraft - Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

after the disastrous 1980 hostage crisis in iran the u.s recognized the need for an aircraft capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter but flying as fast as an airplane the result was the bell boeing v22 osprey the first tilt-rotor aircraft to enter production and one of the most innovative yet controversial machines of the modern era of aviation even after a long and troubled development process that took over two decades and several accidents the osprey persevered and recently achieved six hundred thousand flight hours but the osprey story is just beginning a new aircraft on april 24th 1980 the united states armed forces launched eagle claw a critical operation as they attempted to rescue 52 staff members from the united states embassy in tiran iran many obstacles and failures hindered the mission even before arriving at the destination three of the eight american helicopters sent to the area suffered from hydraulic problems or encountered sand storms an agreement had been signed by president jimmy carter stating that if fewer than six helicopters remained operational the mission would have to be aborted and even though they only needed four to carry it out successfully eagle claw was cancelled as the aircraft prepared to return to their base one of the last remaining helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft containing both servicemen and jet fuel the ensuing fire destroyed the vehicles and caused eight casualties the massive failure of this much debated operation demonstrated the need for a new aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing as well as carrying combat troops at high speeds consequently the department of defense launched the joint service vertical takeoff landing experimental program or jvx in 1981 under u.s army leadership and the marine corps also joined as their ch-46 sea nights were already aging and they recognized the potential of these aircraft to participate in amphibious operations development in december of 1981 a request for proposal for preliminary design work on the joint service project was issued the v-22 was the first aircraft program to be designed from scratch to meet the needs of all four services the marine corps the air force the army and the navy aerospace shall bell helicopter boeing verdahl grumman lockheed and westland also expressed interest in the project but the planners encouraged them to form teams bell and boeing vertol submitted their proposal by february of 1983 and they were awarded a preliminary design contract in late april by early 1985 the jvx aircraft was designated v22 osprey and by march six prototypes were on the production line [Music] work was split evenly between both companies while bell handled the wings nacelles drive system rotors tail surfaces aft ramp engine installation and final assembly boeing manufactured and integrated the fuselage avionics cockpit and flight controls in 1987 general duane h cassidy then commander-in-chief of the military airlift command expressed his enthusiasm for the osprey project quote asking what good is the v22 is like asking what good is a newborn baby it can do almost anything you can imagine and i have a big imagination i see a big role it will have a major role in special operations forces in short airlift and in combat rescue and it will have a major role in low intensity conflicts of all sorts it will be an amazing airplane the osprey was the first aircraft development project to be designed entirely on a computer with digital designs saving time and resources the system also allowed for immediate and effective communication between boeing verdel's plant in philadelphia and bell helicopters fort worth facilities their creation was also the first major military aircraft design whose airframe was made almost entirely of composite materials a quarter of the weight of standard aluminum on may 23 1988 the first v22 was rolled out of bell's flight research center however the program immediately ran into complications that would hinder its development for over a decade [Music] in addition with the cold war winding down and decreasing defense funds budget cutters believe the v22's mission could be accomplished with cheaper more traditional helicopters still the osprey persevered and survived numerous cancellation attempts even in the face of several high-profile accidents and ever-increasing costs a versatile performer the osprey which remains in service to this day completely fulfilled the pentagon's decades-long vision for an airplane helicopter hybrid the v-22 is 57 feet long and 22 feet high with its engine nacelles rotated upward when measured in that position with its two sets of rotors side by side the aircraft is over 84 feet wide thanks to two rolls-royce liberty engines with 6150 shaft horsepower each the osprey can carry a crew of four plus 24 internal personnel additionally the osprey can carry up to 12 500 pounds of material artillery and even wheeled vehicles in an external slung load however the feature that sets the osprey apart from other aircraft is its half helicopter half conventional airplane composition although the marine corps av-8a harrier was the united states first operational vertical takeoff and landing airplane the b-22 was the first large-scale aircraft with tilt-rotor technology for vertical and short takeoff and landing according to boeing quote the b-22 osprey is a joint-service multi-role combat aircraft utilizing tilt-rotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft with its rotors in vertical position it can take off land and hover like a helicopter once airborne it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed high-altitude flight this combination results in global reach capabilities that allow the v-22 to fill an operational niche unlike any other aircraft while on the ground and hovering the b-22s engine nacelles are in a perpendicular position the large diameter rotors are parallel to the wings however after takeoff and for straight and level flight the rotor and nacelle combination rotates forward 90 degrees allowing the osprey to fly like a regular airplane variants as of 2021 the b-22 osprey has been used by the united states marine corps the air force and soon by the navy each branch has its own variant created to cater to specific needs the marine corps version the mv-22 began training exercises in 2000 but wasn't officially introduced until 2005. it has a longer range which allows the aircraft to carry 24 troop members twice as fast and five times farther than its predecessors enhancing marine assault operations the osprey is capable of in-flight refueling and thus it has a nearly unlimited range in may of 2015 four marine owned mb 22 is aided in earthquake recovery efforts in nepal covering a total distance of almost 3 000 miles the mv-22 has seen combat in afghanistan iraq syria and the horn of africa region the osprey quickly earned an impeccable reputation as top marine commander george j troutman iii said it lengthened his battle space quote from the size of texas into the size of rhode island thanks to the mv-22 the marine corps was able to retire their vietnam-era ch-46 helicopters and it plans to field a total of 360 units over the next decade the air force's osprey variant is the cv-22 this version and the marines only differ in a handful of ways the main distinction is that the air force's model can carry an additional 304 gallons of fuel internally giving it a longer range at a slightly slower cruising speed the variant also has enhancements in flight control systems that have been updated over the years to make it operational in high-risk environments for special missions such as rescuing down pilots or insertion and extraction of special operations forces behind enemy lines in 2006 the first operational cv-22 was delivered to the air force's 58 special operations wing in new mexico and the aircraft achieved operational capability in 2009 the air force's osprey has also seen combat in asia and africa during the 2013 south sudanese political crisis three cv-22s came under arms fire while trying to evacuate american civilians in the area the formation was hit 119 times wounding four crew members and causing flight control failures and hydraulic and fuel leaks on all three aircraft this incident prompted updates on the plane such as installable armor floor panels the u.s air force currently has 46 cv-22s in their inventory and they're expecting 54 more by the end of 2021 meanwhile the navy is variant the cmv-22 is still not finished the aircraft will feature variations in operational range improved cargo loading lighting and even a public address system for passengers this variant will provide the navy with significant increases in capability and operational flexibility over their current aircraft the grumman c2 greyhound the new model will perform shore based expeditionary or sea based missions the cmv22b is projected to field with initial operational capability in late 2021 and the navy currently plans to procure only 44 aircraft the future in february of 2021 the v-22 osprey tilt rotor surpassed the milestone of 600 000 flight hours this event was achieved by combining all the flights from the air force's special operations forces the marine corps and the navy squadrons according to colonel matthew kelly the b-22 joint program manager quote each v-22 flight hour is the product of a team effort enabled by pilots maintainers testers engineers the program workforce and our industry partners who together ensure safe and effective v22 operation despite a rocky and lengthy start the osprey's unique look and versatile capabilities will continue flying well into the mid 21st century with 400 aircraft in existence the v22 continues to be the only tilt rotor model in active production and will continue to help american sailors marines and airmen during countless missions thank you for watching our dark skies channel please let us know in the comments below if you'd like to see a specific aircraft covered on our channel and don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell icon to be notified of our most recent content

Channel: Dark Skies

Views: 216,708

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Keywords: aviation, airplanes, aircraft, air force, history, documentary, history channel, documentary channel, dark docs, dark skies, osprey, bell, boeing, v22, v-22

Id: erWPD71BL1A

Length: 10min 12sec (612 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 17 2021