All is well
My two cents:
Ned I've flown with you and you've taken great pics of machines over the
years. Thanks for capturing such great images.
I will tell that, over here, speed range and payload are what it is all about.
The rules of war have not changed since the first pissed off homonid smacked another one on the head with a stick.
You could make a VTOL M1 flying tank/helicopter hybrid and eventually someone would figure out a way to kill it.
As I make my runs (usually whistling, it makes me feel better) in my unarmored, unarmed, "please shoot me" color scheme helo, I would gladly trade for a V22 any day.
The truth is anyone can die here at any second, in any flight profile and the Taliban don't care if you have 300 or 10,000 hours.
I would also say that as I watched a flight of V22's land the other day followed by a Predator on short final, I thought to myself, "Has the future arrived?" It may not be the perfect solution but it is certainly progress.
Mckpave give 'em hell in the valley for me.
Cheers