Make or break? Osprey prepares for first operational deployment

If all runs according to plan, September 2007 should see the maiden operational deployment of the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Responsibility will be entrusted to US Marine Corps (USMC) Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263), which is to vacate the security and sanctuary of its home base at MCAS New River, North Carolina, for the rather more spartan and considerably more hostile surroundings of Al Asad, Iraq.

This event has been a long time coming, with the development history of the V-22 Osprey spanning more than two decades, during which it has endured more than its fair share of trials and tribulations, as well as some moments of tragedy. Even today, with operational introduction imminent, the Osprey tiltrotor continues to generate controversy, opponents arguing vehemently that it should be scrapped on grounds of safety and unsuitability while supporters are no less forthcoming in singing its praises.

As always, the truth probably lies somewhere between these two extremes and while it may not be 'make or break' for the MV-22, it is clear that the next few months will provide an acid test for both the personnel and equipment of VMM-263, with those on opposing sides of the debate looking for 'ammunition' to support their arguments and terminate the debate once and for all.

The subject of this debate has not exactly enjoyed the smoothest development history since it originated as the Joint Service Advanced Vertical Lift Aircraft (JVX) back in Fiscal Year 1982 (FY82). At that time, it was anticipated that at least 900 examples of the chosen design would be produced for all branches of the US armed forces and management of the JVX programme was initially a US Army responsibility.

However, US Army interest soon waned, with overall control of the programme passing to the US Navy (USN) in January 1983, shortly before award of a preliminary design contract in late April of the same year. This was followed by a seven-year Full Scale Development (FSD) contract on 2 May 1986, by which time the JVX proposal had evolved into the V-22 Osprey, as a joint venture between Bell and Boeing.

First flown in prototype form on 19 March 1989, the V-22 showed significant promise from the outset, but the programme soon encountered difficulties, foremost among them being an attempt at cancellation in December 1989. On this occasion, the US Congress came to the rescue when it elected to restore funding to the programme, but further troubles followed, with one of the five flying prototypes being destroyed on its maiden flight in June 1991 as a direct result of the miswiring of key avionics systems. Worse followed in July 1992 when another prototype was destroyed after one of the nacelles caught fire, resulting in loss of control with fatal consequences for the seven occupants.

Despite these setbacks, work on the programme continued to make slow but steady progress throughout the remainder of the decade, culminating in a successful maiden flight by the first production example of the MV-22B on 30 April 1999 and formal acceptance of this aircraft by the USMC on 14 May. Trials with this and other early production examples appeared to be going well, despite another unfortunately fatal accident in April 2000, this time involving the fourth LRIP (low-rate initial production) MV-22B. This was induced by the so-called vortex ring state, a phenomenon peculiar to helicopters, whereby recirculating air from rotor downwash makes it difficult to check the rate of descent.

Changes to operating techniques did much to alleviate the problem and allowed the grounding order imposed on 8 April to be lifted six weeks later, on 25 May. Since then, provision of a sink-rate warning system providing audible and visual indications of a potentially hazardous flight condition have also been incorporated as part of the measures aimed at addressing this problem.

The MV-22 was nevertheless moving closer to achieving operational status, with a recommendation that it be adopted for fleet service being made on 8 November 2000, while authorisation to proceed with full-rate production was expected to be granted before the end of the year. Not surprisingly, confidence was undoubtedly high but was to experience a severe knock when the eighth LRIP Osprey was involved in an accident near New River in December 2000. On this occasion, the problem was far more serious, originating with failure of a hydraulic line and compounded by problems encountered with the flight-control system that ultimately induced a stall and subsequent fatal crash.

An immediate grounding order was imposed and the future of the programme appeared in grave doubt for the next year, while various studies were undertaken. In December 2001, however, it was decided to continue and following modification of a handful of aircraft, flight testing eventually resumed with the fourth EMD example on 29 May 2002.

Five years on, that decision looks set to be vindicated with a key milestone being passed on 13 June 2007 with achievement of initial operational capability (IOC). This effectively means that both the MV-22B and VMM-263 are perceived as ready to undertake expeditionary operations alongside other Marine aviation elements.

(http://www.janes.com/news/defence/naval/idr/idr070713_1_n.shtml)