V-22 Osprey

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American tiltrotor military aircraft having the ability to do both short takeoff and landings (STOL) and vertical takeoff and landings (VTOL). The practicality of a traditional helicopter and the high-speed, long-range cruising capability of a turboprop aircraft are combined in its design. The failure of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 (during the Iran hostage crisis) highlighted the fact that neither conventional helicopters nor fixed-wing transport planes were suitable for all military missions. The Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) program was launched by the US Department of Defense (DoD) in order to create a novel transport aircraft with long-range, high-speed, and vertical-takeoff capabilities. A contract for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft's development was given to a partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters in 1983. The airplane is collaboratively made by the Bell Boeing team. The V-22 began flight testing and design modifications after its initial flight in 1989, but it took many years to create due to its complexity and challenges as the world's first tiltrotor for military use.

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) were supplemented by the MV-22B Osprey before being replaced by it in 2007. Crew training for the MV-22B Osprey began in 2000. In 2009, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) put into service the CV-22B, a tiltrotor. The Osprey has been used in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait since it began serving with the Marine Corps and Air Force. Beginning in 2021, the U.S. Navy intended to employ the CMV-22B for carrier onboard delivery missions.

The V-22 Osprey should be easily identifiable because of its distinctive profile, which is a result of the fact that it is able to perform vertical and short takeoffs and landings. Because it is intended to be a long-range transport with the finest qualities of both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, these attributes when combined allow it to operate in a variety of conditions. The V-22 Osprey now costs $57.8 billion.

Cost: $57.8 billion

Country: United States