Osprey the Death Wish Machine - soon for combat ?

TM Advertising of Irving, Texas, prepared this ad for Bell Helicopters which appeared several times in the Armed Forces Journal and was "mistakenly placed in the National Journal last October.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based Islamic civil-liberties group created stink ...the building depicted in the ad has an Arabic sign that translates as "Muhammad Mosque," according to the council. Curiously nobody was too bothered that the V 22 Osprey crash happy death machine is being advertised by Bell, because if it is canned ,Bell tanks.

At the same time the Philadelphia Enquirer was happy to report ...

In a move that could mean hundreds of new jobs at Boeing's Ridley Township facility, a Pentagon panel today endorsed the V-22 Osprey and recommended moving toward full production of the aircraft.

The ruling by the Defense Acquisition Board could mean billions of dollars in contract work for the two companies involved in its production - Providence, R.I.-based Textron and Chicago-based Boeing Co. The company will build at least 458 of the V-22 aircraft for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy.

On March 27th another V22 crashed at Marine Corps in New River N.Carolina. Warming it's engines on the ground it jumped in their air, slammed sideways into the ground on its right wing - without injuries or death.So far five production copies and one prototype have crashed killing 26 Marines and 4 civilians.

2 Decades and after spending US$18 billion dollars there isn't anything in the US weapons store that has a worse record of safety, performance, cost inflation. Now Senate Appropriations Committee is planning an emergency spending bill that will provide another US$230 Mn for this program.

Why? Well the Marines own this toy, (Chmn of Staff Pace is a Marine as is head of SHAEF) they love brute force and this vehicle has 12,300 horse power , 4 times that of the battle proven Vietnam era CH-46, the V22 weighs twice as much and uses 3 times the fuel. Although plants in Texas and Pennsylvania build most of the V-22, 43 states share in it's manufacture.

In 2000 the Osprey was re-engineered to prevent ruptures in its high-pressure hydraulic system. ( A later generation twin tilt rotor for the Coast Guard,Eagle Eye an unmanned vehicle has no hydraulic systems; electro-servo actuators operate flight controls, and its twin tiltrotors are operated mechanically). Flight protocols were re-written to warn pilots not to descend too fast in helicopter mode, so as to avoid a potentially deadly ring vortex state, where the rotors lose their purchase on the air and the aircraft plunges earthward.

In January, the U.S. Army's aviation chief, Paul Bogosian, while discussing the loss of 56 aircrew and 120 aircraft have been lost since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began in late 2001 said helicopter survivability "has become a top priority" for the military.

Brig General Mindt at the same meeting explained that helicopters still have little protection against the most commonly used anti-aircraft weapons, such as air-defense artillery and small arms, which don’t emit an electronic signal. In an effort to minimize their exposure to enemy small arms fire, attack aviation pilots have changed their flying tactics from the traditional norm of hovering and firing to running fire and diving fire. Regrettably the designers of the V 22 have overlooked armamanet and the vehicle doesn't have a single piece of armament. The General Audit Office said ,""Survivability recommendations included the need to install and test a defensive weapon."

Billions of dollars spent and Bell and Boeing have not worked out how to install a gun ­ any kind of gun ­ onboard a machine that is bound by the laws of physics to land and take off slowly. Easy prey to small arms fire.

IN the battlefield shortage of helicopter spares is a problem which tracks back to shortages in U.S. stocks of speciality metals are leading to critical spare parts shortages for helicopters in Iraq, says Maj. Gen. James Pillsbury, chief of the Army’s Aviation and Missile Command.

The Berry Amendment, (which Lord Patel has drawn attention to elsewhere) is causing critical shortages in the specialty steel that goes into bearings used in helicopters, Pillsbury said.

The Berry Amendment dates from 1941 and requires the military to buy certain products from U.S. sources.

Next year, the Marines will deploy V-22s in Iraq.

"The Osprey can deliver Marines to battle more safely, bring them reinforcements over greater distances in greater numbers, and evacuate wounded more quickly. That all equates to lives saved, as we continue to prosecute the global war on terrorism."
Dr. Donald C. Winter
Secretary of the Navy, Jan. 2006 Boeing Website

BREAKING NEWS MAY 6th 16.00 BST 2 'Copters lost in Iraq / Afghanistan

UK military helicopter has been brought down over Basra with an anti aircraft missile 4 dead more here and here

A US Chinook CH-47 on Operation Mountain Lion action crashed at the mountain site in Kunir and all ten crew killed. Another CH-47 crashed there 28th June 2005 killing 16 special forces and crew.

Elsewhere in Afghanistantoday 2 Italian soldiers were killed by IED 12 miles south of the capital Kabul. 4 Afghans, (2 police) were killed in Helmand province where NATO tyroops have moved in.