Originally Posted by GreenKnight121
Yes, heaven forbid we let the Marines insist that it fit where they need it to fit, and in the numbers they need.
Everyone knows it is much better to stick with a "let it grow as big as it needs to, then build new (larger) ships to operate it" plan, right?
No, you're taking me out of context.
What I said previously, & I'll say again, is Bell approached AFSOC first, but AFSOC could not afford the R&D for the small quantity they would buy & since no one else in the USAF was going to buy them (although I think they'd be a perfect CSAR-X candidate), they had to pass. Besides which, AFSOC gets no money for aircraft themselves - they get MFP-11 money ONLY to modify existing aircraft for the SOF mission.
By the time AFSOC gained approval to pursue V-22, several key design parameters had been fixed in place by USMC. Most painfully for AFSOC (and SOCOM by extension), the dimensions of the cargo compartment - no existing SOF vehicles fit. This is not the USMC fault, nor is it an indictment of that aspect of the program.
This is a common problem for AFSOC (and other SOF units) - not enough buying power due to small quantities & no (or few) separate lines of funding.
For example, the same thing happened with Panoramic NVGs. I tested prototypes in '97, but AFSOC couldn't afford to fund the remaining R&D, so we had to pass. AFRL approached ACC, specifically the A-10 community, who jumped on it. Only after ACC bought enough of them to bring per-unit costs down did AFSOC say they'd get in. They get in at the end though & have to wait for ACC to take delivery of all of theirs first. Oh by the way, ACC keeps adding more & more requirements to them (and rightfully so for their mission) - this is delaying deployment, adding to weight, complexity, & cost and there's no telling when we'll see them...I'd have been happy with the prototypes!! Last I heard, cost was almost four times prototype costs!
One of the reasons I believe SOCOM should be a separate command - funding. But that's another can of worms!
