Bell V-22 "Osprey": A unique aircraft with a difficult fate

In 1989, a machine developed by the American companies Bell Helicopter and Boeing made its first test flight. The Bell V-22 "Osprey" tiltrotor is unique in its kind and still remains the only serial tiltrotor in the world.

The main feature of this aircraft, created for the American paratroopers, is the simultaneous combination of the functionality of a transport aircraft and a helicopter.

The machine is capable of carrying loads of up to 9 tons on board and at the same time perform vertical takeoff and landing. This possibility is achieved thanks to a mechanism that allows the nacelles with engines and propellers to be rotated up to an angle of 98 degrees. At the same time, in the event of a breakdown of one of the engines, the second one takes over the rotation of both screws.

By the way, about units. The V-22 "Osprey" is equipped with two power plants from Rolls-Royce with a capacity of 6150 hp, which allows the tiltrotor to accelerate to 565 km / h. The maximum flight range on one gas station is about 2,5 thousand km, the altitude ceiling is 7,6 km. The vehicle is armed with a machine gun located in the rear folding ramp. Inside there are 24 armored ejection seats for landing.

It is worth noting that the unique tiltrotor, which has very impressive characteristics, has a rather difficult fate. More than 30 years have passed from the start of development to adoption by the US Marine Corps.

During this time, the project was frozen and postponed several times. First of all, this was due to the high cost. The price of the already serial V-22 "Osprey" in 2014 reached 76 million dollars per unit.

In addition, during the tests, accidents and breakdowns often occurred, which did not have the best effect on the attitude of the military towards this machine.

In general, for all the time of flights, the V-22 "Osprey" suffered 9 accidents, in which almost 40 people died. Meanwhile, he has played a huge role in US operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

To date, more than 350 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft have been produced.

Comments

[Lech from Android.]

This car is not very impressive ... it glows on the radar like a Christmas tree ... and landing on it is a very dangerous event.

[Sulla__Glorious]

Everything is described beautifully, but the RF Armed Forces have NOTHING like that. They managed to buy Martyrs from Iran - 136, 132. But from FRIENDLY Belarus - no progress; even secretly buy a license for the manufacture of the best samples, since our military-industrial complex is not able to provide anything similar. What are the conclusions, in relation to the RF Ministry of Defense?

[vik669]

The impressions of the radar operator, who is also a V-22 pilot, are of course important, but ... it’s better to be reasonably silent than to talk stupidly!

[your1970]

Great idea, but problematic...
40 people are trifles for such projects - "Widowmaker" out in Germany, how many pilots mowed down and nothing. The Germans blew out from under the occupation boot a little and then silence

[Ezekiel 25-17]

For US marine corps, this car is just right, which is why it was accepted, although not without flaws.

[Magellan]

The Russian Armed Forces would be very useful for such a machine!

[Vladimir80]

Yes, it would be useful, but you need to start with the main thing (communications and intelligence) and gradually!

[Lynx2000]

Inside there are 24 armored ejection seats for landing.

Interested in about 24 armored ejection seats for landing, is this true or a typo?
What to do with the crews and others on board who died during the operation of the Osprey?
Like an Osprey with ejection seats or a tiltrotor from the sci-fi movie "Edge of Tomorrow"?

[Konnick]

Meanwhile, he has played a huge role in US operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

Well, it’s so huge, well, they threw the body of Osama bin Laden into the sea, and what else?
A dead-end direction in terms of complexity, high cost and reliability. The more mechanisms, the greater the likelihood of failure.

[huggi]

Indeed, it is better to travel in balloons, a minimum of moving parts.

[vovochkarzhevsky]

The V-22 cannot glide like an airplane and cannot autorotate like a helicopter. The hovering mode requires much more specific power than a helicopter. The claimed 9000 kg load is achieved only with a minimum refueling. Actually, that's why the car is equipped with a refueling bar in order to replenish the fuel supply after takeoff.
There are also big problems with a static hovering ceiling.
The only plus is 500 km/h cruising speed.
So the question is, where to implement it? The answer is work in landing operations of the ship-coast type, but only against third world countries in the event that they suddenly have coastal and land systems with anti-ship missiles.

[Maxim G]

Given that no one else does this, the device is clearly not very successful.
And, if third world countries have anti-ship missiles, then there should be MZA and air defense systems.

[vovochkarzhevsky]

Given that no one else does this, the device is clearly not very successful.
And, if the third world countries had anti-ship missiles, then the MZA and the air defense system should be

The fact is that the production of weapons has long been crushed by commerce. And therefore, armaments often receive not what the army needs, but what is profitable to produce.

[Maxim G]

Well, it was the same in the USSR - the most striking example is our aircraft-carrying cruisers and the useless Yak-38 for them.

[Red Hunter]

At the time of its introduction, the Osprey was cool, despite some technical problems and design complexity. Its maximum speed is nearly double that of most classic helicopters, and its payload is comparable to light transports. It should be replaced by the V-280 Valor, which is lighter, cheaper and does not have many "childhood" diseases.
In my opinion, the future belongs to coaxial helicopters with a pusher propeller. They are structurally much simpler than convertiplanes, which means they are more reliable and cheaper.

[Oleg812spb]

The essence of all these dances is a very high speed compared to conventional helicopters. But if you think about what it cost - sadness.

[agond]

Two lifting engines double the probability of failure, plus the synchronization system for their joint work adds probability, lifting screws are too small for such a take-off weight and therefore less efficient when hovering than in conventional helicopters, in a word, copying this unique aircraft is not worth it.