The U.S. Marine Corps announced April 13 that the first MV-22 Osprey deployment would be to Iraq for seven months starting September, where the aircraft's main role will be carrying troops into combat.

The first operational squadron for the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor will be the Marine Medium Tiltrotor 263 of Marine Aircraft Group 26. Although the Ospreys mainly will carry troops, according to Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, deputy commandant for aviation, the aircraft also can be used to carry other cargo such as injured personnel.

The tiltrotor technology, which allows the aircraft to fly both as a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, will make it possible to get the Marines close to the battle zone quickly and more safely, Castellaw said during an April 13 press briefing at the Pentagon.

Using the Ospreys in Iraq, he said, will cut down on the number of aircraft shootdowns and other combat losses. The Marines have lost seven aircraft to such incidents in Iraq so far, he said.

Ospreys have low acoustic signatures and their infrared emissions are suppressed, he said. And the tiltrotor's capabilities will give the Marines other ways to cut down on risk. "We can get above the threat," he said.

The Ospreys are simply much more capable aircraft than the CH-46 Sea Knights they replace, Castellaw said. "The MV-22 flies twice as fast, three times as far and is six to seven times more survivable," he said. The MV-22 fleet will provide about one-third of the medium-lift assets available to Marines in Iraq, he said.

To give some idea of the flexibility of the Osprey, Castellaw said, "It can go to any location in Iraq from where we're going to [base] them without being refueled."

Currently, the Marines have five squadrons of MV-22s -- three tactical and one each for training and testing. The plan, Castellaw said, is to replace about two Sea Knight squadrons per year, staring in about a year from now. All should be replaced by 2018.

The MV-22s will replace the Sea Knight squadrons in the Pacific, Castellaw said, but exact basing and schedules have yet to be determined.