How does a Huey Cobra keep up with the Osprey.... or get to this mystical LZ without a FARP somewhere in the area? Or....does this magical Osprey always go it completely alone...unafraid....and unarmed
Sas,
It appears that the tactical support a/c of choice for the Osprey is not the Cobra, it is the AV8B Harrier as was the case in the rescue of the downed F-15 pilots in Libya. Launched from the USS Kearsarge, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit used the Harriers to provide air cover for the extraction. In fact the Harriers were there in advance of the extraction to clear potential threats using 500-pound laser-guided bombs and other armament to bear that Cobras are not capable of delivering. Of course the dream a/c of support for future operations is the F-35, but the fate of that program is yet to be determined.