The U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22B Osprey will soon deliver new modes of punishment to enemies of America and its allies.
Military officials say the tiltrotor aircraft will be more versatile than ever with addition firepower possibly ranging from Hydra 2.75 inch rockets to 7.62 mm guns. Just as the iconic B-52 bomber has continues to remain useful to troops in harm’s way due to upgrades, officials say the Osprey will be relevant to at least 2060.
“We want to arm the MV-22B because there is a gap in escort capability,” Capt. Sarah Burns, Marine Corps Aviation, told Warrior Maven this week. “With the right weapons and associated systems, armed MV-22Bs will be able to escort other Ospreys performing the traditional personnel transport role.”
The officer said that weapons — perhaps even Hydra 2.75 inch folding fin laser guided rockets — .50-cals, and other guns have been tested as a proof of concept.
“The current requirement is for an all-quadrant weapons system,” Capt. Burns said. “We are reexamining that requirement — we may find that initially, forward firing weapons could bridge the escort gap until we get a new rotary wing or tiltrotor attack platform, with comparable range and speed to the Osprey. Further testing would have to be done to ensure we could properly integrate them.”
The military website added that Ospreys are also being modified for aerial refueling missions on aircraft like the F/A-18 and F-35C.
“We plan to have the MV-22B Osprey for at least the next 40 years,” the officer added.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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