MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- More than 170 service members and civilians gathered at the Officers’ Club to highlight the V-22 tiltrotor program’s accomplishments, discuss some of its challenges, and to provide a vision of the future during a “Team Osprey” conference Jan. 19.
Team Osprey is a group of representatives from the military and industry that meet regularly to discuss the V-22 Program. This event provided a unique opportunity for Marines and airmen to express their opinions directly to manufacturers about V-22 components, explained Bob Carrese, the executive director for V-22 business development at Bell Helicopter. This is a great opportunity to have a professional and social dialogue with members of the team we don’t engage on a regular basis, said Carrese.
The conference began with remarks from Brig. Gen. Gary Thomas, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation, who though it “appropriate to highlight the successes of the aircraft as the V-22 approaches 100,000 flight hours.” Other speakers included Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Kingsley, Director of Operations for Air Force Special Operations Command, and John Garrison, CEO of Bell Helicopter.
Team Osprey included morning and afternoon military-to-military breakout sessions that allowed Air Force and Marine operators and maintainers to trade lessons learned and identify shared challenges. One such discussion was about the challenges of operating the aircraft in Afghanistan’s austere conditions. Osprey operators shared best practices for employing the aircraft in the sand and dust, while the maintainers identified effective techniques to maximize component lifecycles in that brutal environment.
In addition to the military discussions, the industry members had their own breakout sessions to discuss how to best support their customers by improving their supply processes. In the afternoon they toured the flight line and saw the aircraft they build as well as tried their luck in flying an MV-22 flight simulator.
The meeting allowed the manufacturers to examine the aircraft as a whole and see the “bigger picture,” explained Carrese. “They would not normally be able to walk in a V-22 aircraft or visit flight simulators. It allowed them to appreciate how their work on a single component contributes to the bigger picture.”
The highlight of the day was the afternoon panel discussion. During this event one Air Force and three Marine Corps pilots discussed their experiences with the Osprey during multiple AFSOCs deployments as well as during Marine deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and with a Marine Expeditionary Unit. “The V-22 has unique capabilities as a tiltrotor aircraft,” explained Kingsley. He said he wished they had the same capabilities when he was a helicopter pilot during Operation Desert Storm.
While sometimes the Osprey receives undue negative publicity, “There are more than 70,000 components aboard the V-22. Less than 200 of them have minor problems. The aircraft has a lower mishap rate than the Marine Corps average,” explained Col. Christopher Seymour, Aviation Weapons Requirements deputy branch head with Headquarters Marine Corps. Events like this are intended to remind both industry and government how effective and survivable the Osprey is, while providing a setting to discuss ways to improve its readiness and affordability, said Seymour.
The Marine Corps has eight V-22 squadrons on the East Coast and three on the West Coast. Marine Corps officials expect to have twenty-two squadrons by 2017, explained Seymour. “Everybody’s transitioning right now – it’s been busy,” said Seymour. “With the aircraft getting deployed to combat, a lot of good lessons could slip through the cracks. This event benefits everybody. We want people to realize that they have a venue to talk about the V-22 issues – maintenance, operations, requirements, everything.”