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We all know the V-22 Osprey – the hybrid helicopter tilt-rotor airplane mix which has taken over local airlift for the Marines and some of the Air Force.\u00a0 Not sure which air machine I have done more articles on, the V-22 or the F-35, but it has to be fairly close.<\/p>\n
Services may be heaving a sigh of relief – the Pentagon is lifting flight restrictions on the V-22.\u00a0 You may remember some of the crashes the notorious tilt-rotor has suffered – most recently killing 8 off the coast of Japan late last year, which caused its grounding. Following a meeting with SecDef Austin Friday:<\/p>\n
The officials said that Naval Air Systems Command, which grounded the controversial tilt-rotor aircraft about three months ago, will lift it and allow the services to begin implementing their plans to get the Osprey back into the air. Austin met with the top service leaders, including for the Navy and Air Force, on Friday morning, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public.<\/p>\n
The Osprey has been grounded for almost three months following a Nov. 29 Air Force Special Operations Command crash in Japan that killed eight service members. The Japan incident and an earlier August Osprey crash in Australia that killed three Marines are both still under investigation. The Air Force has said that it has identified what failed in the Japan crash, even though it does not know yet why it failed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The air frame has suffered from “hard clutch” issues for years. The Air Force at one point grounded their fleet (at the same time the Marines said “we knew of the problem but we cope with it so we won’t ground ours”) but resumed flying. Then after the Japan crash the fleets of the AF, Navy\/Marines, and White House fleets (that last flies staffers, reporters etc.) were all grounded.<\/p>\n
In the months since, the services have worked on plans to mitigate the known material failure by conducting additional safety checks and establishing a new, more conservative approach to how the Osprey is operated.<\/p>\n
Officials said the U.S. military will also share its plans with Japan, which is the only international partner involved in the Osprey program. Japan also grounded its fleet of 14 V-22s after the November crash. Prior to the grounding the U.S. Marine Corps routinely used Ospreys in that county. (sic)<\/p>\n
A return to flight is a sensitive topic in Japan, where public opinion on the Osprey is mixed. Officials said the U.S. is committed to a safe process, and the fleet will not fly again there until Japan has had an opportunity to be briefed on the services\u2019 plan.\u00a0 AP<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So the big tilt-rotor is going to be back in the air.<\/p>\n
By now, I am sure I am not the only one who noticed: there is not one word saying the problem is actually FIXED.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"