V-22's in Afghanistan

[skymstr02]

[CAPFlyer]

Cool pics. Thanks for posting them.

[Andy in West Oz]

Very impressive. Thanks.

[Randy Haskin]

Great shots!

Did you take them?

[skymstr02]

No, I didn't take them. They were sent to me from a Marine O-5 type. They are a a det from CONUS.

[jtramo]

A couple of vintage P-51s could take out a squadron of those things rather easily!

[Randy Haskin]

A couple of vintage P-51s could take out a squadron of those things rather easily!

I'm sure the US will consider that the next time they have to fight someone fielding a couple of those as combat aircraft.

Not all aircraft are designed to operate in a non-permissive environment. There's always something higher on the food chain.

Think of the V-22 in the same way that you'd think of a Blackhawk or any other combat helo; they don't have a whole lot of offensive firepower, but do have defensive capabilities.

[jtramo]

I just find it interesting that the current and more so future air asset focus seems to be on aircraft that can only fly in a total air supremacy type environment. Lessons learned ala Stuka, B17 etc. Raptor not included but the 22 orders have been greatly reduced. A lot of people agree we will not have air dominance in the near future. Whats the inside scoop from your end? Maybe this is grounds for a new topic in "military matters."

[Randy Haskin]

I just find it interesting that the current and more so future air asset focus seems to be on aircraft that can only fly in a total air supremacy type environment. Lessons learned ala Stuka, B17 etc. Raptor not included but the 22 orders have been greatly reduced. A lot of people agree we will not have air dominance in the near future. Whats the inside scoop from your end? Maybe this is grounds for a new topic in "military matters."

There's no "inside scoop", unfortunately. The simple fact is that money is limited, and budgets have to be spent on what is needed the most.

The people with the purse strings (Congress) and the people who want a particular type of military capability (SecDef) are the ones who decide, not the tacticians.

The USAF leadership that was pressing for aircraft that would sustain air superiority and global power projection were fired by the SECDEF for not falling in lock-step with his agenda.

[Ztex]

Those are great shots!

Love seeing the V-22 at work.

[TimAPNY]

Very cool shots! Thanks for posting

Tim

[the330thbg]

What 'claxon' goes off if you get too close to the ground with rotors still in the 'flying' position?

Man would those plow a field!!!

[Alexandre Jay]

Thanks for sharing these great shots!

Despite the problems I've heard these V-22s have had, I still think they're pretty cool machines none the less. There's a full length documentary about them on youtube someplace, or at least there was earlier this year.