Air Force tilt rotor pilots to begin training in '05.

• Author: Colucci, Frank

The Air Force Special Operations Command plans to begin CV-22 crew training in 2005. The 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., already has one motion-based, full flight simulator and one fixed-base, flight training device, which is undergoing modifications.

Bell Helicopter is the simulator prime contractor. The trainer integrates a representative CV-22 cockpit with the FlightSafety International Vital 9 visual system. The advanced visual system will enable CV-22 crews to fly over simulated terrain in all weather conditions, said company officials. CV-22 and Marine MV-22 simulators will be identical, except for SOF-specific cockpit details and threat environments.

Two more simulators (one full flight simulator and one fixed-base flight training device) at the Air Force schoolhouse will be ready for training between 2007 and 2011. A cabin part task trainer for rear-cabin aircrew will be available for training by 2006. Each operational squadron will have a flight-training device, and all simulators will have networking capability to rehearse multi-player missions.

The CV-22 is still under development, but several enhancements are under consideration. A turreted gun to supplement the Pave Low-like ramp gun remains an unfunded requirement, said program officials. Helmet displays and other improvements may be incorporated in later Osprey production batches.

A favorable Defense Acquisition Board review that revived Marine Corps hopes for the MV-22 tilt rotor likewise saved Air Force plans for the CV-22 Special Operations Osprey.

While the V-22 Integrated Test Team at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., continues joint-service development testing, CV-22 work at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., focuses on technology unique to special operations forces.

The Air Force Special Operations Command plans to acquire 50 CV-22s between 2006 and 2017. However, full production rates for the tilt rotor are still to be determined.

A successful CV-22 initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) from April to September 2006 will enable the first of five Air Force Special Operations squadrons to become operational by the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. The initial capability will include six tilt rotors, with 1.5 fully trained crews per aircraft and support assets.

With the speed and range of a turboprop and the vertical takeoff and landing performance of a helicopter, the tilt rotor promises to infiltrate, exfiltrate and resupply SOF over long distances in a single night.

Original requirements for the special operations tilt rotor were shaped by the 1980 aborted mission to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran. A rescue force with RH-53D helicopters would have required 35 hours to evacuate the hostages with two daytime hidesites and the support of C-130 and C-141 transports. CV-22s, in the same scenario, could potentially do the job in eight hours, with a smaller, less detectable force.

Though CV-22 payload and range benchmarks have changed during development, the tilt rotor advantages remain clear. Simplified comparisons between the Bell Boeing CV-22 and the Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopter figure the tilt rotor will...