A year of flight testing has led to a reversal of fortune for
the V-22 Osprey, with senior Pentagon officials giving their blessing
to take the tiltrotor into a higher production rate.
The Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing-built V-22 has been under
intense scrutiny since December 2000 when flight testing was halted
because of two fatal crashes that year in which 23 Marines died.
Flight testing under a completely revised program resumed only
a year ago, with developers under pressure to show they could
fix reliability problems and demonstrate that the tiltrotor is
safe to fly. Otherwise, senior Pentagon officials said, the program
would be killed. In the intervening period, production of V-22s
would be limited to 11 aircraft per year.
Testing, including more than 460 flight hours, has won over at
least those critics that matter. Pentagon acquisition czar E C
'Pete' Aldridge, a self-proclaimed V-22 skeptic, recently reviewed
the program and lauded the technical progress demonstrated during
the flight test phase and gave the nod to move the program forward
more aggressively. The V-22 verdict was one of Aldridge's final
actions in that post before he retired.
High-rate-of-descent (HROD) evaluation of the V-22 has been a
focal point of testing in recent months, particularly because
one of the crashes in 2000 was linked to HROD-induced vortex ring
state (VRS), a blade-stall condition. The pilot of the V-22 descended
too rapidly at low forward airspeed, causing VRS and aircraft
roll that wasn't recoverable. HROD-related VRS has become a battleground
for detractors and supporters of the V-22, with critics charging
the flight instability makes the aircraft inherently unsafe, while
advocates counter that the tiltrotor is less susceptible to the
condition than regular helicopters and that control can be regained
simply by moving the nacelles forward.
The test program was able to dispel two of the main questions:
that the V-22 handled poorly at low speeds, and that the aircraft
is unsafe because of VRS, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael
W Hagee. There are still technical hurdles to clear, such as demonstrating
the tiltrotor's deicing capability, he noted. That is planned
for this winter.
The favorable Pentagon assessment marks the second time the V-22
has narrowly escaped cancellation. Congressional support of the
program in the early 1990s barely managed to keep it alive when
then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney tried to kill it.
The program endorsement is a critical turning point for the Osprey
and also represents a huge boost for Bell, which is developing
a commercial offshoot of the aircraft. The BA609 civil tiltrotor
has begun flight-testing, although Bell and its partner, Agusta
Aerospace, are still negotiating workshare on the program.
In the case of the V-22, a summary of the Aldridge review states
that "technical progress is sufficient to consider increasing
the production rate past the minimum sustaining rate" of
11 aircraft. Pentagon officials will devise a strategy by late
August to increase production. Tentative plans call for boosting
the build rate to 14 or 15 aircraft in Fiscal 2005, followed by
20 or 21 in FY2006. Program officials are reluctant to boost production
more aggressively for fear the manufacturing facilities at Bell
and Boeing couldn't deal with higher rates.
The review also highlights that in the past 12 months the debate
over the V-22 inside the Pentagon has shifted from technical feasibility
to cost. One of the main reasons Defense Department officials
are eager to increase the production rate is because it promises
to generate savings. V-22 managers hope to slash the aircraft's
costs by around $10 million, so a tiltrotor bought in 2010 would
cost about $58 million.
"Cost is a factor. We are very aware of that," acknowledged
Hagee. He is "optimistic" the price will come down, but
noted the process to determine savings measures has only begun.
The Marines plan to buy 360 MV-22s, while the Air Force Special
Operations Command wants to buy 50 CV-22s, which feature enhanced
equipment.
