Airforces

NEWS North America

18 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

THE US Navy has

conducted a series of

tests of the Osprey tiltrotor

in the carrier on-board

delivery (COD) role. A US

Marine Corps MV-22B

tested rolling landing and

take-offs in excess of

57,000lb (25,854kg) on the

flight deck of the aircraft

carrier USS George H W

Bush (CVN 77) in August.

The tests demonstrated

the Osprey’s ability to

carry more weight than

the C-2A, the navy’s

current COD platform,

which is limited to landing

at 49,000lb (22,226kg).

During the trials, the

MV-22 was integrated into

flight deck operations.

LT Gavin Kurey, assigned

to Air Te st and Evaluation

Squadron (HX) 21,

became the first US Navy

pilot to land an MV-

on an aircraft carrier.

The C-2A will be replaced

by the US Navy’s CMV-

22 Osprey variant,

expected to achieve initial

operational capability by

2021. Compared with the
      MV-22B, the navy variant
      has increased operational
      range, a beyond line-of-
      sight HF radio, improved
      fuel dump capability, a
      public address system
      for passengers and an
      improved lighting system
      for cargo loading.

US AIR Force C-12C 73-

(c/n BD-13) from the US

Embassy Budapest was an

unusual recent visitor to RAF

Valley, Wales. The 45-year-

old aircraft arrived from RAF

Northolt, West London, using

the callsign ‘Duna 95’, before

departing to RAF Waddington,

Lincolnshire, on August 21.

The purpose of its visit is

unknown. The US Embassy

Flight in Hungary operates

from Budapest Ferenc

Liszt International Airport.

Embassy Huron visits Valley

Hywel Evans

T WELVE F-22As deployed

to Spangdahlem Air Base,

Germany, for three weeks

this summer. The visit to

Europe involved Raptors

from the 95th Fighter

Squadron (FS), 325th

Fighter Wing (FW), based

at Tyndall AFB, Florida.

As part of this flying

training deployment, the

fighters paid visits to

Norway, Greece, Spain,

Romania and Poland.

Some of these lasted just

for one day, taking off in the

early morning and returning

to Spangdahlem late in

the afternoon; other visits

continued for several days.

The F-22s were

accompanied by KC -

tankers throughout

the deployment. The

Stratotankers provided

aerial refuelling during the

transit and carried aircraft

maintainers to provide

ground maintenance while

pilots debriefed after

their morning missions.

As well as these visits, air

combat training took place

over Western Europe with

and against Spangdahlem-

based US Air Forces in

Europe (USAFE) F-16s,

Luftwaffe Eurofighters,

French Mirage 2000s

and Belgian and Dutch

F-16s. Alex van Noye

and Joris van Boven

Raptors tour Europe

Left: An F-22A from the 95th

FS, 325th FW participates

in a multi-aircraft fl yover of

Warsaw, Poland, to mark

the 100th anniversary of

Polish independence and

Armed Forces Day. The

Raptors forward deployed

from Spangdahlem AB

to Powidz on August 14.

USAF/Senior Airman Joshua

Magbanua

MV-22B Osprey tested in COD role

Right: A member of the fl ight

deck crew directs an HX-

MV-22B to land on the USS

‘George H W Bush’. US Navy/

Mass Communication Specialist

3rd Class Roland John

15-18 USNews AFM Oct2018.indd 18 10/09/2018 14:35: