Re: V22 Osprey fails OPEVAL
From an aviation point of view, it's nice to see the boundaries being pressed, especially when someone else is paying the bills.
But the thing that always has confused me with the V22 is the doctrine. How do the USMC use the improved cycle time of this aircraft when all of the heavy equipment is being moved by CH53, LCAC and conventional landing craft? Regardless of the distance from ship to LZ/beachhead, surely this results in more troops on the ground in a given time, but short of heavy equipment which will still be in the process of offloading in slowmo. Given the cost and deck impact of this large aircraft, it should be possible to deploy a (slightly) larger fleet of medium helicopters at considerably lower cost, and still get the same number of boots on the ground by the time the heavy equipment has arrived. So what is the scenario/doctrine that places such a high premium on high speed?