Non-Subscriber Extract
Paris Air Show: USMC reveals first Osprey deployment
By Gareth Jennings
20 June 2007
The US Marine Corps (USMC) has announced plans for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor's first operational deployment.
Colonel Matt Mulhern of the USMC revealed at the Paris Air Show 2007 that 10 Ospreys assigned to VMA263 would be deployed to Al Asad in Anbar province, Iraq.
The build-up to deployment has been gathering pace in recent months following the V-22's successful completion of its Initial Operational Capability (IOC) trials on 1 June 2007.
Although primarily ex-CH-46 Sea Knight pilots, V-22 crews have been drawn from all branches of the USMC's rotary- and fixed-wing units and have been busy developing Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) in the US prior to the planned deployment in September 2007.
Col Mulhern acknowledged the difficulties that would be encountered in operating a completely new type of aircraft for the first time, especially as its first deployment would be into combat operations.