The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft that utilises tiltrotor technology to achieve the combined vertical performance of a helicopter and the speed and range of a fixed wing aircraft. Used by the United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, United States Navy, and the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force for various operations involving cargo and troop transport, but most excitingly, combat weapons testing.
History
The idea for the V-22 came about after the failure of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 where it was realised that the US needed a new type of aircraft was capable of not only taking off and landing vertically but also to carry combat troops and be fast. So in 1981 the DoD began the JVX aircraft program under the leadership of the US Army in cooperation with the USMC and US Navy.
The USMC wanted an aircraft that could replace their aging CH-46 Sea Knight’s which due to some of it’s flaws was one of the leading factors in the failure of Operation Eagle Claw. A request for preliminary design prototypes was issued in the end of 1982 which Aérospatiale, Bell Helicopter, Beoing Vertol, Grumman, Lockheed and Westland taking interest, they were each asked to partner up in order to design the aircraft they wanted. In 1983 Bell-Boeing submitted a prototype named the XV-15, as this was the only submission the JVX program received, the contract was awarded to them in the spring of 1983. The XV-15 would later go on to become the V-22 Osprey and it’s versions.
The JVX designated the XV-15 the V-22 Osprey at the start of 1985 with the first 6 prototypes being produced by March of that year. In 1988 the V-22 was publicly announced alongside the US Army withdrawing from the JVX program, leaving the USMC and US Navy to continue development. The first of the 6 prototypes successfully flew in Autumn of 1989. However the 4th and 5th prototypes crashed during testing from October 1992 and April 1993. The USMC MV-22 entered service in February 2007 just after the US Navy’s CV-22 and later the CMV-22.
The MV-22 was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009 with VMM-261 where it’s first combat mission took place on the 4th of December 2009, Operation Cobra’s Anger where the MV-22’s was involved in deploying 300 Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, and the Marine Recon Unit in conjunction with Sikhorsky CH-53E Super Stallions in the Helmand Province against Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces.
The MV-22 also is used for various non-combat/rescue missions. In January 2010, MV-22’s were sent to Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response relief efforts after magnitude 7 earthquake. In March 2011, 2 MV-22’s were sent from the USS Kearsarge, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship to help rescue a downed F-15E crew member during Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya. On the 2nd of May 2011, after Operation Neptune’s Spear an MV-22 was used to transport the body of Osama bin Laden (founder of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group responsible for many terror attacks included most infamously the events of 9/11) to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea where Bin Laden was then buried at sea.
Since then the MV-22 has been used on various missions. In 2013, the first of 12 MV-22’s were placed within the HMX-1 Presidential Airlift Squadron in which it has been used for the transportation of the President of the United States, the First Lady, and other members of the US Government.
In 2012, the Japanese Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto ordered an investigation into the costs of V-22’s for the use in the Japan Self-Defence Forces. In 2014 the Japanese Military of Defence decided to procure 17 V-22’s where the first of which took flight in 2017. However after a fatal crash of an CV-22 off Yakushima in November 2023 Japan suspended flights of their MV-22’s, they later resumed their flights in March 2024. In 2025 Japan’s MV-22’s are planned to be based from Saga Airport in Kyushu where they will be deployed alongside AH-64DJP’s and UH-60’s.
Specifications
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Weight
Empty - 15,030kg
Vertical Takeoff Max - 25,909kg
Short Takeoff Max - 27,443kg -
Engine
2 Rolls-Royce AE-1107C Engine with a combined total of around 12,300 horsepower -
Performance
Cruise Speed - 448-473kph
Max Speed - 509kph
Service Ceiling - 7,254m
Rate of Climb - 11.8-20.3m/s -
Armament
60 x Split Countermeasures (Chaff and Flares)
1 x 7.62 M240 or 1 x .50 M2 Browning on the rear ramp
1 x 7.62 GAU-17 turret (IDWS Interim Defensive Weapon System) mounted to the belly which can be retracted for takeoff and landings.
[Tested] 2 x Hydra rocket pods or APKWS pods
[Tested] 2 x AGM-176 Griffin Air to Ground guided missiles -
Avionics (relevant to War Thunder)
AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning System
AN/AYK-14 Mission Computer
APQ-186 Multifunction Radar
AN/AAQ-24 Directional Infrared Counter Measure
L-3 Wescam MX-15 sensor/laser designator
Helmet Mounted Sights / HMD
Pictures
V-22 in forward flight
MV-22 test firing Hydra/APKWS rockets
MV-22 with IDWS deployed
View of the IDWS firing from inside of the MV-22
Gunner using an Xbox-like controller to use the IDWS
Gunner firing the rear ramp mounted .50 M2 Browning
MV-22 Firing Chaff and Flares
Cockpit of the MV-22
View of an Osprey being refuelled from within the cockpit
MV-22 being refuelled mid-air by KC-130J
Overall I think that the MV-22 would be a very unique and interesting aircraft to add the the US helicopter tech tree with also the possibility of being added to Japan to help bolster their helicopter tree.
- Yes
- No
- Tech Tree Vehicle
- Event Vehicle
- Squadron Vehicle
- Premium Vehicle
- I Said No
- 9.7 or lower
- 10.0
- 10.3
- 10.7
- 11.0
- 11.3 or higher
- I Said No
- Yes
- No
Sources
The Military Wants a Forward-Firing Gun for the Osprey
USMC V-22 Osprey’s Get Teeth.
The V-22 Osprey Finally Gets The Missiles And Rockets It Needs
The V-22 Osprey’s New Belly Gun Rotates 360 Degrees To Fire 3,000 Rounds a Minute
Bell Boeing Demonstrates Forward-firing Capability for V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey Fact Sheet
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey: Unlike any aircraft in the world
Navy Programs MV-22 Osprey
Boeing V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The tiltrotor revolution: MV-22B Osprey