Achilles
11-10-2007, 02:25 PM
Controversial Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Deploys to Iraq
By David Hambling
11.09.07 | 12:00 AM
The first combat squadron of MV-22 Ospreys is now deployed to Iraq after decades of development. Made by Boeing and Bell Helicopter, the Osprey is the most radical new aircraft to enter service for many years. Its tilt-rotor design combines the vertical takeoff and hover ability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional aircraft.
The Ospreys belong to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, known as "The Thunder Chickens" and are scheduled to remain in Iraq for at least seven months. But controversy goes with them: Three fatal accidents during testing, questionable maintenance records and a one-time fluke in computer hardware have left critics claiming that the Osprey is fundamentally unsafe.
The spiralling cost of the program has also attracted criticism. Each Osprey now costs around $100 million, and that's after more than $15 billion in development costs. The military claim the bugs have been fixed and the new tilt-rotor is ready for its baptism of fire.
http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2007/10/gallery_osprey/mv_22.jpg
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/multimedia/2007/11/gallery_osprey_v22
By David Hambling
11.09.07 | 12:00 AM
The first combat squadron of MV-22 Ospreys is now deployed to Iraq after decades of development. Made by Boeing and Bell Helicopter, the Osprey is the most radical new aircraft to enter service for many years. Its tilt-rotor design combines the vertical takeoff and hover ability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional aircraft.
The Ospreys belong to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, known as "The Thunder Chickens" and are scheduled to remain in Iraq for at least seven months. But controversy goes with them: Three fatal accidents during testing, questionable maintenance records and a one-time fluke in computer hardware have left critics claiming that the Osprey is fundamentally unsafe.
The spiralling cost of the program has also attracted criticism. Each Osprey now costs around $100 million, and that's after more than $15 billion in development costs. The military claim the bugs have been fixed and the new tilt-rotor is ready for its baptism of fire.
http://www.wired.com/images/slideshow/2007/10/gallery_osprey/mv_22.jpg
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/multimedia/2007/11/gallery_osprey_v22