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AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COMAPRIL 2015 |^73

V-22 & E-2D military trials z

Mediterranean. At the time of the
weapons tests, the Bell Boeing
partnership had delivered 242 MV-22
tiltrotors to the US Marine Corps and
44 CV-22s for US Air Force Special
Operations Command (AFSOC).

EXPANDING ROLES
With the MV-22 now established as the
backbone of the Marine Corps’ rotary-
wing fleet, both the Marines and
AFSOC are keen to explore additional
capabilities for the Osprey. Now that
the V-22 has demonstrated that it can
be equipped with forward-firing
rockets and missiles, potential
missions can be added.
“Integrating a forward-firing
capability to the Osprey will increase
its mission set,” Tobin explains.
“These weapons, once installed, will
provide added firepower and reduce
reliance on forward arming and
refueling points (FARPs), which are
sometimes necessary to supply short-
range attack rotorcraft in support of
V-22 operations. Without the need for
FARPs, V-22s can be launched more
frequently, and at shorter notice.” In
the concept as outlined by Tobin,
the Marine Air-Ground Task Force
commander could call upon armed
MV-22Bs to provide organic
firepower, obviating the need for an
accompanying escort provided by
lighter, shorter-legged AH-1Z Viper
or UH-1Y Venom helicopters.
The Osprey has previously been
equipped with guns, but never rockets
or missiles. A forward-firing capability
is certainly on the Marines’ wish list
for the Osprey; it has long sought to
boost the tiltrotor’s firepower. One
such effort resulted in the BAE Remote

The Bell Boeing team was required

to provide an approval to fly in

accordance with the Federal Aviation

Administration’s experimental type

certification process. This was carried

out as part of an overall safety analysis

of the forward-firing modifications.

The run-up to the live firing trials

involved the test crews becoming

familiar with the aircraft modifications

and the three types of weapon to be

deployed. This included a limited

amount of time in the simulator,

weapons training from subject matter

experts, and a series of dry-run flights.

These early test flights were conducted

from the Bell Boeing joint facility at

Amarillo, Texas, as well as at Yuma.

The airframe, too, had to be put

through its paces before any of the new

weapons could be fired. Among others,

the work-up period included

electromagnetic environmental effects

(E3) compatibility testing and captive

carriage testing, during which the

Osprey was flown with weapons or test

‘shapes’ installed on the new pylon.

These demonstrated that the airframe

was able to bear the dynamics and

loads involved in the different weapons

configurations. Bell has demonstrated

the ability to carry more than 136kg

(300 lb) on either side of the Osprey’s

forward fuselage.

In five days of testing at Yuma, the

Bell Boeing project team fired a total

of 24 unguided and four laser-guided

rockets. In all cases, the weapons were

Guardian System, a belly-mounted,

remote-controlled 7.62mm (0.3in)

caliber GAU-17 Minigun. However,

once in theater MV-22 crews have

preferred to ditch the heavy gun turret

in favor of flying with an armed escort,

the Osprey itself typically being armed

only with a ramp-mounted tail gun.

Indeed, should an Osprey come

under fire, current practice is to apply

full power and escape using the

aircraft’s impressive climb rate.

MODIFICATIONS

The latest work involved design,

manufacture and installation of a

pylon arm to carry forward-firing

weapons. This also required structural

modifications of the airframe to support

the additional weight. Furthermore,

the test aircraft was equipped with

new cockpit displays for targeting

and control panels for the related

instrumentation. Other changes

included the replacement of the

standard Raytheon AN/AAQ-27 laser

targeting/forward-looking infrared

(FLIR) sensor with the latest Wescam

MX-15Di electro-optical/infrared sensor

mounted under the Osprey’s nose.

ABOVE: Bell

Helicopter

announced

the successful

demonstration of

a forward-firing

capability for the

Bell Boeing V-22

Osprey

12

The time in seconds it takes to ‘tilt’

the propellers 90° depending on

which mode???

36

The amount spent on the program

to date, in billions of dollars, with

400+ aircraft planned

36

Number of fatalities due to

accidents with the V-22

200+

The number of V-22s built

as of 2014

BELOW: A V-22

test article fired

a 70mm rocket

from a launch tube

mounted on the

aircraft’s left side