MV-22 Called to War

A MV-22 operating off the East Coast landed on the HMS Illustrious yesterday in preparation for JTFEX 07-2. There are a lot of things that could be said, and actually is being said by the British media about it, but from a US perspective it was basically a way to get a feel good MV-22 story out there, after all, the MV-22 didn't crash.

I expect to see tons of feel good stories out over the next few weeks about the MV-22, or happy CV-22 stories for that matter. Today it was confirmed, the MV-22 is going to Iraq in September.

It was just last week the Dallas Morning News signaled the MV-22 deployment was possible. In interviews, this comment popped up.

Lance Cpl. Jimmy Rytlewski, 21, of Tampa, Fla., likes the Osprey's speed but is concerned by its light armament - a sentiment shared by others.

"I wouldn't want to go into a hot landing zone" in the Osprey, said Lance Cpl. Michael Hall, a 20-year-old from Sharptown, Md., "but if you just need to get somewhere and go, I'd rather take that."

It has "only" taken 21 years and 22 billion dollars to get the MV-22 into action. However, I think Jimmy's concern is more than legit, it is one thing to base an opinion solely on the history of the program, but when I saw this picture, I was reminded just how big the MV-22 is. Stealthy!

What could possibly go wrong? Oh, except uhm, maybe another reason why the price is going to go up yet again.