($100 M) MV-22 Rates Good Marks, Some Concerns

[unhappycamper]

MV-22 Rates Good Marks, Some Concerns
Jan 25, 2011
By Michael Fabey

The MV-22 Osprey has been testing and performing relatively well, according to the most recent report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), but the review also notes concerns about mission-capable rates and the need to do operational workarounds in certain scenarios.

“The MV-22 demonstrated effectiveness in a wide range of approved high-altitude scenarios reflecting current Marine Corps operations,” DOT&E notes. The MV-22 met or exceeded thresholds for all reliability and maintainability requirements, with the exception of “repair times for aborts,” the report states. But “this shortfall did not materially affect the ability of the aircraft to meet its flying demands.”

The enhanced chaff-and-flare system and software improvements also were effective, the report says.

However, “The aircraft’s ability to operate in high-altitude, unimproved landing zones was limited by the lack of an effective braking system and the inability to perform rolling takeoffs or landings,” the report says. Plus, “The radar altimeter was unstable in cluttered environments and demonstrated limited capability in urban and shipboard environments.”

The mission-capable rate demonstrated during some of the testing period was only 57%—the aircraft’s threshold requirement is 82%—less than another previous testing rate of 78%.