With a unique design, the V-22 Osprey is the only US transport aircraft that can fly in multiple modes
It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range
high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft
Since the failure of Operation "Eagle Claw" to rescue 52 hostages held in Iran in 1980
it was emphasized that there were military roles for which neither conventional helicopters nor fixed-wing transport aircraft were suitable
The US Department of Defense launched a program of transport aircraft capable of vertical take-off, high-speed flight and long-range operation
The Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental program officially commenced in 1981
By 1989, the prototype V-22 was launched and tested
Because of the complexity of the design, with engines that could rotate 90 degrees, testing of the aircraft lasted until the mid-2000s
By June 2007, V-22 Osprey was officially put into service with the US Marine Corps
The U.S. Air Force fielded their version of the tiltrotor, the CV-22B, in 2009
In terms of design, the Osprey is completely different from the rest of the world of aircraft
It has a length of 17.48 m, a wingspan of 13.97 m, a width of 25.776 m, and a height of 6.73 m
Its empty weight is 14.43 tons, and its maximum take-off weight is 19.37 tons
It features a cockpit that includes a side-by-side seating arrangement with framed canopy windscreen allowing for above
side and forward views of the action behind a short, sloping nosecone
The passenger cabin is directly aft of the cockpit with access doors along the sides of the forward fuselage
The fuselage carries a noticeably bulged lower sides while the straight-wing appendages are seated atop the roof at amidships
Each wing root manages a positional engine nacelle which can face upwards for or tilt horizontally to direct power for forward flight as needed
Each engine powers a large, three-bladed composite rotor assembly
The Osprey is classified as a powered lift aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration
For takeoff and landing, it typically operates as a helicopter with the nacelles vertical and rotors horizontal
Once airborne, the nacelles rotate forward 90° in as little as 12 seconds for horizontal flight
converting the V-22 to a more fuel-efficient, higher speed turboprop aircraft
Composite materials make up 43% of the airframe, and the proprotor blades also use composites
For storage, the V-22's rotors fold in 90 seconds and its wing rotates to align, front-to-back, with the fuselage
The Osprey is powered by two Rolls-Royce T406-AD-400 engines, with a maximum of 6,150 hp each at 15,000 rpm at sea level
The Osprey can reach a top speed of 509 km/h, a range of 1,628 km, and a service ceiling of 7,600 m
The standard operating crew of a V-22 is four personnel, includes two pilots and a pair of flight engineers
Up to 24 seated passengers or 32 standing infantry can be transported, or up to 20,000lbs of internal cargo or 15,000lbs of external cargo
Since entering service with the Marine Corps and Air Force
the Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait
The U.S. Navy plans to use the CMV-22B for carrier onboard delivery duties beginning in 2021
Bell Boeing has proposed additional variants to the base V-22 line including the EV-22 as an Airborne Early Warning and Control platform
The SV-22 is a proposed Anti-Submarine Warfare version for the US Navy outfitted with specialized instrumentation
equipment and assumed dipping sonar capability
To date, 400 Ospreys have been produced at a cost of roughly $70 million per system
Japan is the only foreign operator of this system
On 8 May 2020, the first two of the five aircraft were delivered to the JGSDF at Kisarazu Air Field