V-22 Osprey Just Keeps Getting Better

Video Source: Out Of Your Mind

The Osprey has supported land and maritime combat and land war for many years since its arrival more than 10 years ago; its mission success has inspired the Pentagon to continually upgrade the aircraft for service as far as into the 2050s and beyond. 

The longevity and expected service-life of the Osprey has, for many years, been supported by a wide range of sustainment and modernization efforts including aerial refueling and advanced digital networking. There is also the possibility of further arming the platform and the Navy has been working to engineer and deploy its own variant of the Osprey. The CMV-22B Navy variant, in development now for several years, is intended to replace the current role of the carrier-launched C-2 Greyhound aircraft.

 

The military services who operate the Osprey have, over the years, added a Digital Interoperability technology to network the aircraft, its crews and other air and ground nodes to transmit combat crucial real-time intelligence information.

Adding weapons to the Osprey would naturally allow the aircraft to better defend itself should it come under attack from small arms fire, missiles or surface rockets while conducting transport missions; in addition, precision fire will enable the Osprey to support amphibious operations with suppressive or offensive fire as Marines approach enemy territory.