The V-22 Osprey has completed a seven-week operational assessment, a precursor to the crucial operational evaluation (OPEVAL) that is scheduled to begin in about six months.

The operational assessment, or "pre-OPEVAL," began May 18 and concluded near the end of the week of June 28-July 2, said Ward Carroll, a spokesman for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where the V-22 program is based.

Carroll declined to characterize the results of the assessment, which was overseen by the Navy's independent testing agency and will be the subject of a report that still is being written. But a highlight of the effort was the tiltrotor transport aircraft lifting the new 155mm Lightweight Howitzer for 69 miles, exceeding a key performance parameter by 19 miles.

The assessment included an "end-to-end" review of the Bell-Boeing aircraft, including logistics, training and flight execution, Carroll said.

OPEVAL remains on track to take place from January to May of 2005 and pave the way for a September 2005 decision on whether to shift from low-rate to full-rate production.

The V-22 program continues to tackle a series of developmental tests that it hopes to wrap up by the end of calendar 2004. Remaining events include landing in an austere environment, such as a desert, and in a confined area, such as a dense forest or densely populated area. Nighttime, shipboard operations and in-flight refueling with a retractable probe also are planned.

Investigators still are trying to determine the cause of a June 28 incident in which an air blower on a V-22 broke apart as the aircraft was hovering aboard a ship (DAILY, July 1). Carroll said the probe could take several more weeks. Testing has been allowed to continue because officials believe the blower breakup was an isolated mechanical failure, based on data and trend analysis.

The United States is developing the MV-22 variant for the Marine Corps, the CV-22 for U.S. Special Operations Command and the HV-22 for the Navy. Initial fielding is slated to begin with the MV-22 in the fall of 2007.

Helicopter probe continues

In other rotorcraft news, a spokesman for Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) said the Army still is investigating why cockpit airbags on two Black Hawk helicopters seemed to malfunction in separate incidents.

The incidents prompted the Army to deactivate the inflatable devices on more than 400 UH-60A/L Black Hawk and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. (DAILY, June 15). The airbags are to protect pilots during crashes.

In one of the helicopter incidents, the bags inflated during a landing. In the other, they did not deploy in a crash.