25 Facts About V-22 Osprey

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing and short takeoff and landing capabilities.

The V-22 Osprey first flew in 1989 and began flight testing and design alterations; the complexity and difficulties of being the first tiltrotor for military service led to many years of development.

Since entering service with the Marine Corps and Air Force, the V-22 Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait.

In 1989, the V-22 Osprey survived two separate Senate votes that could have resulted in cancellation.

Multiple studies of alternatives found the V-22 Osprey provided more capability and effectiveness with similar operating costs.

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In 2000, there were two fatal crashes, killing a total of 23 marines, and the V-22 Osprey was again grounded while the crashes' causes were investigated and various parts were redesigned.

In June 2005, the V-22 Osprey completed its final operational evaluation, including long-range deployments, high altitude, desert and shipboard operations; problems previously identified had reportedly been resolved.

An MV-22 Osprey landed and refueled onboard Nimitz in an evaluation in October 2012.

In 2011, Wired magazine reported that the safety record had excluded ground incidents; the USMC responded that MV-22 Osprey reporting used the same standards as other Navy aircraft.

V-22 Osprey is the world's first production tiltrotor aircraft, with one three-bladed proprotor, turboprop engine, and transmission nacelle mounted on each wingtip.

For storage, the V-22 Osprey's rotors fold in 90 seconds and its wing rotates to align, front-to-back, with the fuselage.

However, the V-22 Osprey is generally not capable of hovering on one engine.

V-22 Osprey has a maximum rotor downwash speed of over 80 knots, more than the 64-knot lower limit of a hurricane.

V-22 Osprey is equipped with a glass cockpit, which incorporates four multi-function displays and one shared central display unit, to display various images including: digimaps, imagery from the Turreted forward-looking infrared system primary flight instruments, navigation, and system status.

V-22 Osprey has triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control systems; these have computerized damage control to automatically isolate damaged areas.

New USMC V-22 Osprey pilots learn to fly helicopter and multiengine fixed-wing aircraft before the tiltrotor.

The V-22 Osprey's speed allows it to outrun conventional support helicopters, thus a self-defense capability was required on long-range independent operations.

The report concluded: "deployments confirmed that the V-22 Osprey's enhanced speed and range enable personnel and internal cargo to be transported faster and farther than is possible with the legacy helicopters".

In January 2010, the MV-22 Osprey was sent to Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response relief efforts after an earthquake, the type's first humanitarian mission.

USAF's first operational CV-22 Osprey was delivered to the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, in March 2006.

One advantage of the V-22 Osprey is the ability to deliver supplies and people between non-carrier ships beyond helicopter range.

The C-2 can only deliver cargo to carriers, requiring further distribution to smaller vessels via helicopters, while the V-22 Osprey is certified for operating upon amphibious ships, aircraft carriers, and logistics ships.

The V-22 Osprey's capabilities exceeded current Japan Self-Defense Forces helicopters in terms of range, speed and payload.

V-22 Osprey has had 13 hull-loss accidents with a total of 51 fatalities.

Since becoming operational in 2007, the V-22 Osprey has had eight crashes resulting in 16 fatalities and several minor incidents.

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