V-22 Osprey Debut Report Card: Analysis

• aircraft
• Osprey
• Marines
• Pentagon
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• Boeing

The tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey got a chance at redemption last year when a dozen deployed to Iraq with the Marines. But a government report released yesterday casts some doubt on the ability of the $100 million aircraft, which takes off like a helicopter, usually from Navy ships, and flies like an airplane, to fill the shoes of the Navy and Special Operations choppers. Many have tried to kill the Osprey, including Dick Cheney, and this new report is bound to fuel critics of the program. Here's a PM-generated score card of the Government Accountability Office report's findings:

Speed: A

The GAO researchers praised the Osprey for its speed, and noted that battlefield commanders said that using it for medical flights and to haul cargo and combat troops "cut the battlefield in half." However, in Iraq the short-distance hauls sometimes nullified the benefits of increased speed.

Combat Prowess: C

The report says that the Osprey "has maneuverability limits that restrict its ability to perform defensive maneuvers and does not have a required integrated defensive weapon." The Special Operations version of the Osprey will receive a weapon. The extra weight will lessen the aircraft's carrying capacity.

Cargo Hauling: C

Operational tests and training flights in-theater showed that the capacity of the Osprey to carry 24 Marines is not being met. Because U.S. troops carry so much gear, the Osprey can haul only 20 troops. The craft can sling heavier cargo, like vehicles and artillery, under its airframe, but future vehicles will be too heavy for it to carry. In places like Afghanistan, where lifting over long distances and high altitudes is essential, the Osprey cannot fly over 10,000 feet, and the V-22 doesn't have its own weather radar or ice-protection system.

WMD Resistance: F

The Osprey was fit with a cockpit that could ward off nuclear, chemical and biological contaminants. In Iraq, the seals that maintain cabin pressure failed, nullifying this capability.

Compatibility With Ships: D+

Maybe it was just growing pains, but the Osprey's downwash threw equipment around the deck. The GAO notes that in one case, sailors had to hold each other to the deck as the Osprey hovered overhead. More damning: The Osprey is bigger than helicopters that it was meant to replace, so fewer are available. The large inventory of repair parts—and the Osprey needs lots of attention in the field, the GAO found—also takes up valuable room on board, and some of the Ospreys must be pre-positioned on shore, which does not mesh with the Marine Corps' ethos of supporting ground actions from the sea.

V-22 Osprey Photo Gallery
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