MV-22 ontwikkelingen

Gestart door Harald, 12/05/2016 | 10:30 uur

Harald

Marine Air Group-24 Spokesman says "the A-10 is the "preferred escort platform" for the MV-22...       ( gaat de USMC nog met de A-10 vliegen ? )



Read the entire article.  To be honest I passed it by because it was titled that they were working on a drone that could be launched from the ramp of an MV-22.  Luckily I had a reader that was focused and grabbed this delicious and a bit disturbing tidbit...

"While the Corps' Osprey has an escort gap, the Marine Corps at times has partnered with Air Force A-10 Warthogs to address the issue."

"Lt. Colin B. Kennard, a spokesman for Marine Aircraft Group 24, previously told Marine Corps Times that the A-10 is the "preferred escort platform" and that the aircraft is "commonly paired" with the Osprey when conducting evacuations and extractions."

....

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/03/04/this-is-why-air-force-a-10s-are-flying-escort-for-marine-ospreys-over-hawaii/


Sparkplug

A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Harald

The U.S. Marines Want to Add Extra Firepower to Tiltrotors

USMC explores heavier weapons for the MV-22B Osprey

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, has been exploring the use of forward-firing rockets, missiles, fixed guns, a chin-mounted gun, and also looked at the use of a 30-millimeter gun along with gravity drop rockets and guided bombs deployed from the back of the V-22.

In recent years, the Corps has been working on a study to help define the requirements and ultimately inform a Marine Corps decision with regards to armament of the MV-22B Osprey.

Adding weapons to the Opsrey would naturally allow the aircraft to better defend itself should it come under attack from small arms fire, missiles or surface rockets while conducting transport missions. In addition, precision fire will enable the Osprey to support amphibious operations with suppressive or offensive fire as Marines approach enemy territory.

Furthermore, weapons will better facilitate an Osprey-centric tactic known as "Mounted Vertical Maneuver" wherein the tiltrotor uses its airplane speeds and helicopter hover and maneuver technology to transport weapons such as mobile mortars and light vehicles, supplies and Marines behind enemy lines for a range of combat missions — to include surprise attacks.

The initial steps in the process will include selecting a FLIR targeting pod, improving the V-22's digital interoperability and designating "Integrated Aircraft Survivability Equipment" — meaning a combination of warning, jamming and sensor reduction systems. Integration of new weapons could begin as early as 2019 if the initiatives stay on track and are funded, Corps officials said.

Developers added that "assault support" will remain as the primary mission of the MV-22 Osprey, regardless of the weapons selected.

So far, Osprey maker Bell-Boeing has delivered at least 290 MV-22s out of a planned 360.

Laser-guided Hyra 2.75-inch folding fin rockets, such as those currently being fired from Apache attack helicopters, could give the Osprey a greater precision-attack technology. One such program firing 2.75-inch rockets with laser guidance is called Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System, or APKWS.

The Marine Corps is in the early stages of planning to build a new, high-tech MV-22C variant Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to enter service by the mid-2030s, service officials said.

While many of the details of the new aircraft are not yet available, Corps officials told Scout Warrior that the MV-22C will take advantage of emerging and next-generation aviation technologies.

The Marine Corps now operates more than 250 MV-22 Ospreys around the globe and the tiltrotor aircraft are increasingly in demand.

The Osprey is, among other things, known for its ability to reach speeds of 280 knots and achieve a much greater combat radius than conventional rotorcraft.

Due to its tiltrotor configuration, the Osprey can hover in helicopter mode for close-in surveillance and vertical landings for things like delivering forces, equipment and supplies — all while being able to transition into airplane mode and hit fixed-wing aircraft speeds. This gives the aircraft an ability to travel up 450 nautical miles to and from a location on a single tank of fuel.

A Corps spokesman told Scout Warrior that, since 2007, the MV-22 has continuously deployed in a wide range of extreme conditions, from the deserts of Iraq and Libya to the mountains of Afghanistan and Nepal, as well as aboard amphibious shipping.

Between January 2007 and August 2015, Marine Corps MV-22s flew more than 178,000 flight hours in support of combat operations, Corps officials said.

The idea behind the new Osprey variant is to build upon the lift, speed and versatility of the aircraft's tiltrotor technology and give the platform more performance characteristics in the future. While few specifics were yet available, this will likely include improved sensors, mapping and digital connectivity, even greater speed and hover ability, better cargo and payload capacity, next-generation avionics and new survivability systems such as defenses against incoming missiles and small arms fire.

Greenberg also added that the MV-22C variant aircraft will draw from technologies now being developed for the U.S. Army-led Future Vertical Lift program involved in engineering a new fleet of more capable, high-tech aircraft for the mid-2030s

The U.S. Army is currently immersed in testing with two industry teams contracted to develop and build a fuel-efficient, high-speed, high-tech, next-generation medium-lift helicopter to enter service by 2030.

The effort is aimed at leveraging the best in helicopter and aircraft technology in order to engineer a platform that can both reach the high speeds of an airplane while retaining an ability to hover like a traditional helicopter, developers have said.

The initiate is looking at developing a wide range of technologies including lighter-weight airframes to reduce drag, different configurations and propulsion mechanisms, more fuel efficient engines, the potential use of composite materials and a range of new sensor technologies to improve navigation, targeting and digital displays for pilots.

Requirements include an ability to operate in what is called "high-hot" conditions, meaning 95-degrees Fahrenheit and altitudes of 6,000 feet where helicopters typically have difficulty operating. In high-hot conditions, thinner air and lower air-pressure make helicopter maneuverability and operations more challenging.

The Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator — or JMR TD — program has awarded development deals to Bell Helicopter-Textron and Sikorsky-Boeing teams to build "demonstrator" aircraft by 2017 to help inform the development of a new medium-class helicopter.

Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter is building a tilt-rotor aircraft called the Bell V-280 Valor — and the Sikorsky-Boeing team is working on early testing of its SB>1 Defiant coaxial rotor-blade design. A coaxial rotor blade configuration uses counter-rotating blades with a thrusting technology at the back of the aircraft to both remain steady and maximize speed, hover capacity and manueverability.

The Bell V-280 offering is similar to the Osprey in that it is a tiltrotor aircraft.

Planned missions for the new aircraft include cargo, utility, armed scout, attack, humanitarian assistance, medical evacuation, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, land/sea search and rescue, special warfare support and airborne mine countermeasures, Army officials have said.

Other emerging technology areas being explored for this effort include next-generation sensors and navigation technologies, autonomous flight and efforts to see through clouds, dust and debris described as being able to fly in a "degraded visual environment."

Meanwhile, while Corps officials say they plan to embrace technologies from this Army-led program for the new Osprey variant, they also emphasize that the Corps is continuing to make progress with technological improvements to the MV-22.

These include a technology called V-22 Aerial Refueling System, or VARS, to be ready by 2018.

The Marine Corps Osprey with VARS will be able to refuel the F-35B Lightning II with about 4,000 pounds of fuel at VARS' initial operating capability and the MV-22B VARS capacity will increase to 10,000 pounds of fuel by 2019, Corps officials told Scout Warrior last year.

The development is designed to enhance the F-35B's range, as well as the aircraft's ability to remain on target for a longer period.

The aerial refueling technology on the Osprey will refuel helicopters at 110 knots and fixed-wing aircraft at 220 knots, Corps developers explained.

The VARS technology will also be able to refuel other aircraft such as the CH-53E/K, F-18, AV-8B Harrier jet and other V-22s.

The Corps has also been developing technology to better network Osprey aircraft through an effort called "digital interoperability." This networks Osprey crews such that Marines riding in the back can have access to relevant tactical and strategic information while in route to a destination.

https://warisboring.com/the-u-s-marines-want-to-add-extra-firepower-to-tiltrotors/

Harald

Paris Air Show: Arming options for CV-22

Further arming options are being considered for the US Air Force's special operations CV-22 tiltrotor as Bell-Boeing plans where to take the variants of the aircraft next and manufactures long-lead items for the US Navy long-range CMV-22B variant.

There are currently 320 aircraft operating worldwide and in the ten years since the first aircraft entered operational service the fleet has clocked up more than 350,000 hours. The company is currently in discussions with the Pentagon for the third multi-year contract and officials are hopeful this will be inked before the end of the year.

Various trials have demonstrated additional capabilities or roles, according to a Boeing official.

'We are developing V-22 aerial refuelling system (VARS) capability. Bell-Boeing configured a test aircraft and put a hose drogue assembly on [the] aircraft. We trailed out the hose, brought F/A-18 to pre-contact position and verified the hose was stable and could be plugged but didn't plug. We are on contract now to develop capability,' the official said.

'We are talking with the USN and USMC about ship resupply, in particular the 10,000lb [4,535kg] F-135 engine power module. It is difficult to resupply this while ships are underway – you have to have ships with highline capability to hold that weight and across cable and down to ship which would mean modifications to the sending and receiving ship. Or you put it into an aircraft that is able to carry that and land.

'The V-22 can fit the module inside fuselage with a cradle developed by engine manufacturer Pratt [&Whitney]. We tested this on USS Wasp and demonstrated that it fits. Because you don't have trap and catapult to land, you don't have to worry about increased shock that the engine would have to experience with that high gross weight.'

The company is also looking at anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare capabilities, arguing that the same advantages which apply generally to the aircraft are particularly applicable for ASW. The V-22 would not need to be tied to a ground asset as a fixed-wing aircraft is and have longer loiter time and would have an increased range rotary aircraft.

The advantage of the V-22's tiltrotor system though, becomes a challenge when weaponising compared to other platforms.

In some variants aircraft has a .50 calibre gun mount on its ramp and a defensive weapon capability where a retractable weapon is deployed using one of the 'hell holes', a hatch under the fuselage.

The official said evaluations had taken place and work was continuing. 'We work with USAF and USMC on weapons,' he said.

'We've fired rockets off a pylon mounted on the cheek of the aircraft and demonstrated the ability to launch and hit targets. We have talked at length about a gun and one of AFSOCs [Air Force Special Operations Command's] requirements is to have a gun, a forward firing weapon.

'The need for a weapon on the CV-22 is to make it more useful to commanders down range and we've been talking about what it would look like, how we can get it done and more importantly how we can get it done quickly.

'There are questions though. What are your concepts of operation? When do you want to fire – vertical flight, forward flight, transition? What is your Field-of-View?' they added.

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/paris-air-show-arming-options-cv-22/

Sparkplug

US Marines set 2019 target for Osprey tanker fit

07 February, 2017 | SOURCE: Flightglobal.com | BY: Jim Winchester | London

The US Marine Corps expects to declare initial operational capability for the Bell Boeing V-22 Aerial Refuelling System (VARS) in late 2019, with the milestone to represent the availability of an initial four mission-equipped aircraft.

VARS will be qualified with the USMC's Boeing AV-8B, F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin F-35B strike aircraft and Sikorsky CH-53 fleets, although a testing timeline has yet to be worked out, says Lt Col Douglas Ogden, MV-22 military platform lead at the V-22 joint progamme office. The service had originally hoped to have the in-flight refuelling system ready to support initial operations with the F-35B, but a contract award was delayed until October 2016.

Cobham Mission Systems will begin delivering production VARS sets during 2018, with the equipment based on its existing FR300 hose-drum unit. Proximity trials performed with F/A-18s in 2013 and 2015 identified no issues with the fighters flying close behind the tiltrotor, Ogden told the IQ Defence International Helicopter Conference in London on 1 February.

Meanwhile, Ogden says the V-22 programme office is looking at the feasibility of adding a chin-mounted gun and crew-served door guns for the Osprey, with the USMC particularly interested in the latter.

"We are looking into these things, but there is no concrete plan for delivery of anything right now," he notes.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-marines-set-2019-target-for-osprey-tanker-fit-433899/
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

ridivek

#3

Sparkplug

Cobham Contracted to Develop Aerial Refueling Kit for V-22

Cobham | 25 October 2016

Cobham has been awarded a contract by the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office to develop a palletized aerial refuelling system to give the the US Marine Corps' MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft the ability refuel other aircraft while inflight.

Known as V-22 Aerial Refueling System (VARS), the system will utilize Cobham's existing FR300 Hose Drum Unit with some modifications.  The roll-on/roll-off kit will enable the Marines to use their land- and carrier-based MV-22B aircraft to refuel F-35B Lightning II and F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, thereby extending their operational range and loiter times.

Design and production of VARS will occur at the Cobham Mission Systems facility in Davenport, Iowa. Deliveries of VARS will commence in 2018, upon completion of rigorous analysis and testing of the system.

Kevin McKeown, Vice President and General Manager of Cobham Mission Systems, said: "With VARS we continue the tradition of providing industry leading aerial refueling capability to war fighters.  This program will enable the Marines to extend the flying range of their fighter aircraft and allow for efficient shipboard operations."

Cobham is a leading global technology and services innovator, respected for providing solutions to the most challenging problems, from deep space to the depths of the ocean.

We employ around 11,000 people on five continents, and have customers and partners in over 100 countries, with market leading positions in: wireless, audio, video and data communications, including satellite communications; defence electronics; air-to-air refuelling; aviation services; life support and mission equipment.

http://www.cobham.com/mission-systems/air-to-air-refuelling/news/cobham-contracted-to-develop-aerial-refueling-kit-for-v-22/


(Twitter photo)

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/178296/cobham-to-develop-aerial-refueling-kit-for-v_22.html
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Harald

Zal de Franse Marine de nieuwste gebruiker worden van de MV-22 ??

Further Qualification Trials for USMC V-22 Osprey and French Navy Mistral-class LHD 

The French Navy (Marine Nationale) announced that it took another step in the interoperability between the V-22 Osprey and the Mistral-class LHD Dixmude on May 2nd 2016. While V-22s have been tested with the Mistral-class several times to date (they were even officially qualified with the Mistral-class last year) it is the first time that the Bell-Boeing tilt-rotor aircraft was qualified for "blades and wings folding and long time parking" aboard the French Navy LHD.

This new testing campaign involved the French Navy's Naval Aviation Practical Experimentation Center (centre d'expérimentations pratiques de l'aéronautique navale - CEPA) and an MV-22B Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263).

The test which took place of the coast of Spain involved:
- The loading & unloading of cargo with V-22's engines running
- The refuelling of the tilt-rotor aircraft
- The foalding of rotors and wings
- The towing of the Osprey with the LHD's flight deck tractors
- The tying down of the V-22 on the flight deck

According to the French Navy: "all these capabilities will enable to achieve operational interoperability to transport troops or logistical supply, similar to the C2 Greyhound on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle".

In March this year, two USMC V-22s were refuelled back-to-back aboard Mistral-class LHD Tonnerre. In September last year, the French navy declared the V-22 Osprey "fully qualified for operational missions to and from the Mistral class". Similar qualifications are expected to take place on board aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

Navy Recognition reported earlier this year that the French Navy may be interested in the V-22 Osprey for a carrier onboard delivery role. In addition, there could be a V-22 Osprey at Euronaval 2016 in October.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3956