A congressional oversight committee has launched an investigation into the V-22 Osprey program following a deadly crash in Japan which killed eight Air Force special operations service members.
The entire Osprey fleet remains grounded following the Nov. 29 crash with the exception of limited Marine Corps flights in emergencies. More than 50 U.S. service members have died in Osprey crashes over the lifespan of the program, and 20 of those died in four crashes over the last 20 months.
The Osprey is a fast-moving airframe that can fly like both a helicopter and an airplane — but its many crashes have led critics to warn it has fatal design flaws.
The government of Japan, the only international partner flying the Osprey, has also grounded its aircraft after the Nov. 29 crash.
why do they keep pushing this vehicle? ive read these articles about it sucking for like 30 years now. people inside the military, people outside the military.
how many humans have to die before we decide maybe this one isnt worth it?
What is worse is that they are going to replace the blackhawk with a VTOL, the Bell V-280 Valor.
Which is even worse, given the promise the SB-1 Defiant program was showing. I have a hard time imagining how the V-280 is supposed to land in narrow canyons or a jungle. It’s wide af, and has massive propellers.
The biggest benefit to the V-280 over the V-22 is that (for now) they aren’t planning to have the V-280 fold up like the Osprey, which eliminates a large amount of the mechanical complexity in the V-22.
So the size issue argument is: “If you turn it sideways, it is basically the same size as the blackhawk.” Ok, fine it can land in about the same footprint. Thing is that the blackhawk can fold the rotors in so you can fit it in a confined space or for transport easier. If they can’t fold the wings in…
They did simplify the tilt mechanism, instead of rotating the engine, they just bend the prop shaft. So time will tell how failure prone that is.
Because our Congressional leaders are lead brained fucking morons who sell out for cheap.
I feel like some context in time spent refining new styles of airframes historically might be relevant. Then again, if the issue is actually the design, it seems like 30 years ought to be enough to refine that or give up with current tech. I just wonder if it’s actually a design flaw - we don’t really get media reports about other crashes like this - I guess the closest was the Boeing 737 MAX? I think part of the issue is the numbers of dead are “inflated” relative to say the F35 because of the number of people who would be on the vehicle.
I don’t know the answers to all these, it’s certainly possible that any expert in military aircraft would be saying these are stupid to keep flying. I just feel like the first helicopters probably had similar times of occasional deadly crashes for instance, and yet no one is saying we should stop flying helicopters.
Ah, the good ole marine killer: Well There’s Your Problem episode on them
It’s been a shitshow of a craft since its inception but fuck me if they aren’t cool as heck. Sometimes they’ll fly some from a nearby airport and they’ll shake the entire building if they are in hover mode and it’s always awesome
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