If you're in Dayton, OH you can see the real deal. The experimental hanger is awesome, and the museum as a whole puts the DC aerospace museum to shame in my opinion.
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Vi...htltv-xc-142a/
If you're in Dayton, OH you can see the real deal. The experimental hanger is awesome, and the museum as a whole puts the DC aerospace museum to shame in my opinion.
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Vi...htltv-xc-142a/
Originally Posted by RevolverRob
Ah, okay. The way I was reading it , sounded like they were doing away with it entirely like the tanks. Which I still think may not be the best idea. I understand modern weapons make the M1 no longer an unstoppable juggernaut astride the battlefield, but completely removing the option of having a fast moving mobile bunker capable of inflicting emotional trauma on anything in line of sight might seem like a bad idea in hindsight. But that's just my opinion from the bleachers.
They had to work out a shaft system where one engine could turn the prop in the other.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
I tend to agree, but also recognize that modern munitions and even IEDs have advanced sufficiently to make current armor less effective and mobile on the battlefield.
One thing I'd love to see is more refined weapons systems for the Osprey that perhaps allow a few units per squadron to function as VTOL-capable ground support aircraft something like a combined helicopter gunship and a C130-based gunship. I know they've had success with remote operated .50 cal GAUs. But let's get a little crazy mount a couple of 30mm MK44 Bushmaster IIs and hang a bunch of rockets out the ass-end like an AC-130 and basically turn it into a mini-AC130.
I tend to agree, but also recognize that modern munitions and even IEDs have advanced sufficiently to make current armor less effective and mobile on the battlefield.
One thing I'd love to see is more refined weapons systems for the Osprey that perhaps allow a few units per squadron to function as VTOL-capable ground support aircraft something like a combined helicopter gunship and a C130-based gunship. I know they've had success with remote operated .50 cal GAUs. But let's get a little crazy mount a couple of 30mm MK44 Bushmaster IIs and hang a bunch of rockets out the ass-end like an AC-130 and basically turn it into a mini-AC130.
I'm just thinking that all the things that make armor more vulnerable, what would they do to all the other things on the battlefield? If it can disable a tank, what are your chances in something softer skinned?
And a baby V-22 Spooky working out of the middle of nowhere waiting to dispense unpleasantness does sound like a moral booster.
Wright-Patt is an amazing musuem. I took these photos 2 years ago.
Don't forget that the AFSOC CV-22s have been getting things done for a long time now, but without much press... which is a good thing.
The TF/TA RADAR is amazing. For the pilots, just imagine flying in the mountains, on the deck, in zero visibility with the tops of trees whizzing by! Ok, on the deck is an exaggeration. They flew at 100' AGL.
As with most new technology, new techniques have to be developed. The V-22s can beat the gunships to most places by a few hours. Oops!I tend to agree, but also recognize that modern munitions and even IEDs have advanced sufficiently to make current armor less effective and mobile on the battlefield.
One thing I'd love to see is more refined weapons systems for the Osprey that perhaps allow a few units per squadron to function as VTOL-capable ground support aircraft something like a combined helicopter gunship and a C130-based gunship. I know they've had success with remote operated .50 cal GAUs. But let's get a little crazy mount a couple of 30mm MK44 Bushmaster IIs and hang a bunch of rockets out the ass-end like an AC-130 and basically turn it into a mini-AC130.
The initial Ramp Mounted Weapons System was a 7.62mm 240 (I think). There was a need for a 50cal so that was adopted down the road.
The coolest thing, but I am not sure if it was every really fielded was the IDWS. This is the remote controlled turret in one of the hell holes.
https://gizmodo.com/the-v-22-ospreys...s-to-f-5940458
For the most part, I do not think there is any appetite for an MV-22 Gunship.
The US Navy is purchasing Ospreys to replace their Greyhounds for COD. This is not a mission performed by USMC tiltrotor squadrons on the Navy's behalf. Ospreys are primarily deployed within the Air Combat Element (ACE) of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on amphibious assault ships, not CVNs.
The .50 cal turret was desired from the beginning but the weight makes it unfeasible for the "Over-the-Horizon" mission sets that the Osprey was designed for. At best it's a niche system. Super freakin' effective if you're using the Osprey for short range non-expeditionary shit, which is exactly what the USMC is trying to get away from (and was very vocal about getting away from even when I was in from 2007-2011).
The idea of an Osprey Gunship isn't feasible within the context of the MEU, which is the bread and butter of the Corps' reason for existence. There is no room to store an extra Osprey Gunship per deployed ACE. There's no room, to the point that we still use Hueys even when Seahawks are tenfold better aircraft in every way.....and even then, the Hueys are dual purpose. Whereas the Army uses strictly Apaches for attack flights, we send out pairs: 1 Huey gunship, 1 Apache. The Huey, with its side mounted crew chiefs, offers greater situational awareness to the team, and they have some pretty interesting attack formations. An Osprey Gunship doesn't really fit into the MEUs mission set, and the only way to deploy them would be to curtail other assets that are actually needed.
On top of that, an Osprey Gunship would be a terrible gunship. The entire point of a gunship is a floating battlestation with extended loiter capabilities. An Osprey gunship would be a flying brick and probably no more TOT than a skid, while placing an extreme logistical strain on the MEU.
@TOTS.
Last edited by TGS; 03-27-2020 at 08:50 AM.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
This makes sense. The 50cal RMWS was requested by another user. From my knot hole, I have no idea who ended up using the 50s after if was approved. I was not on the program when this happened but I was close by, so-to-speak.
There are 2 "new" V-22s running around these days: Japanese and Navy COD.
The COD version info below. Notice the new sponsons that look like nut sacks.
https://theaviationist.com/2019/12/1...maiden-flight/
Japanese:
https://theaviationist.com/2017/08/2...de-of-the-u-s/
I suppose for folks that don't know, there are also these shiny sumbiches:
We definitely wanted them given the limitations of a ramp mounted gun, but yeah.
Also a derpa-derp note that I can't edit: In my last post, I wrote "pairs of a Huey and Apache". That should obviously read Cobra.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
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