Bell Boeing V - 22 Osprey The Bell - Boeing V - 22 Osprey is an American multi - mission , military , tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing ( VTOL ) , and short takeoff and landing ( STOL ) capability . It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long - range , high - speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft . Developed over a span of nineteen years beginning in 1981 . The USMC started crew training in 2000 and in 2007 after 27 years of developement , controversey , and trials the V - 22 was fielded by the USMC . It was fielded by the USAF in 2009 . Development . JVX and Early Designs . Development for V - 22 began when in 1981 the D . o . D began the Joint - service Vertical take - off / landing Experimental ( JVX ) aircraft program . The JVX combined requirements from the Marine Corps , Air Force , Army and Navy . At first the US Army was leading the project but in 1983 the USN and USMC were given leadership . In December 1982 the D . o . D requested proposals from multiple companies for the JVX . The only proposal was made by the Bell / Boeing team for an enlarged version of the Bell XV - 15 on February 17 , 1983 . On April 26 , 1983 the Bell / Boeing team received a preliminary design contract . The JVX aircraft was designated V - 22 Osprey on 15 January 1985 ; by that March the first six prototypes were being produced , and Boeing Vertol was expanded to deal with the project workload . Work has been split evenly between Bell and Boeing . Bell Helicopter manufactures and integrates the wing , nacelles , rotors , drive system , tail surfaces , and aft ramp , as well as integrates the Rolls - Royce engines and performs final assembly . Boeing Helicopters manufactures and integrates the fuselage , cockpit , avionics , and flight controls . The USMC variant of the Osprey received the MV - 22 designation and the Air Force variant received CV - 22 ; reversed from normal procedure to prevent Marine Ospreys from having a conflicting designation with aircraft carriers ( CV ) . Full - scale development of the V - 22 tilt - rotor aircraft began in 1986 . The first V - 22 was rolled out with significant media attention in May 1988 . That year , the Army left the program , citing a need to focus its budget on more immediate aviation programs . Flight Testing and Further Developement . The first V - 22 prototype flew for the first time on March 19 , 1989 in the helicopter mode , and on September 14 , 1989 as a fixed - wing plane . The third and fourth prototypes successfully completed the Osprey ' s first Sea Trials in December 1990 on the USS Wasp . The fourth and fifth prototypes crashed in 1991 and 1992 . From October 1992 until April 1993 , Bell and Boeing redesigned the V - 22 to reduce empty weight , simplify manufacture and reduce production costs . This redesigned version became the V - 22B model . V - 22 flights resumed in June 1993 after safety improvements were incorporated in the prototypes . Bell Boeing was awarded a contract for the engineering manufacturing development ( EMD ) phase in June 1994 . Remaining prototypes were changed to be more like the B variant . Flight testing at the stage focused on expanding the flight envelope , measuring flight loads , and supporting the EMD redesign . This and further flight testing continued into 1997 . Flight testing of four full - scale development V - 22s began in early 1997 when the first pre - production V - 22 was delivered to the Naval Air Warfare Test Center , Naval Air Station Patuxent River , Maryland . The first EMD flight took place on 5 February 1997 . The first of four low rate initial production aircraft was ordered on April 28 , 1997 and was delivered on May 27 , 1999 . In January 1999 the 10th Osprey completed the program ' s second sea trials on the USS Saipan . During external load testing in April 1999 , Boeing used a V - 22 to lift and transport the M777 howitzer . In 2000 , there were two further fatal crashes , killing a total of 19 Marines , and the aircraft was again grounded while the cause of these crashes was investigated and various parts were redesigned . The V - 22 completed its final operational evaluation in June 2005 . The evaluation was deemed successful ; events included long range deployments , high altitude , desert and shipboard operations . The problems identified in various accidents had been addressed . Recent development . On 28 September 2005 , the Pentagon formally approved full - rate production for the V - 22 . 458 V - 22s are currently planned with 360 going to the USMC , 50 to the USAF , and 48 to the USN . The Bell - Boeing team will design a new integrated avionics processor to resolve electronics obsolescence issues and add new network capabilities . By 2014 Raytheon will provide an avionics upgrade that includes Situational awareness and Blue Force Tracking . Mission improvements have been developed for the " Block C " version . A contract for the Block C upgrade and other improvements was awarded to Bell - Boeing in late 2009 . Deliveries of Block C upgrades are ongoing in 2010 . U . S . Naval Air Systems Command is working on upgrades to increase the maximum speed from 250 knots ( 460 km / h ; 290 mph ) to 270 knots ( 500 km / h ; 310 mph ) , increase helicopter mode altitude limit from 10 , 000 feet ( 3 , 000 m ) to 12 , 000 feet ( 3 , 700 m ) or 14 , 000 feet ( 4 , 300 m ) , and increase lift performance . Design . The Osprey is the world ' s first production tiltrotor aircraft , with one three - bladed proprotor , turboprop engine , and transmission nacelle mounted on each wingtip . For take off the V - 22 operates in helicopter mode with the nacelles in a vertical position , in mid flight the nacelles rotate forward 90° in as little as 12 seconds for horizontal flight . The horizontal plane mode of the V - 22 is much more fuel efficient . The V - 22 is also capable of STOL rolling takeoffs and landings by having the nacelles tilted forward up to 45° . Composite materials make up 43 % of the V - 22 ' s airframe . The V - 22 ' s wing rotates to align front to back with the fuselage for compact storage and transport . The V - 22 ' s two Rolls - Royce AE 1107C engines are connected by drive shafts to a common center gearbox so that one engine can power both proprotors if an engine failure occurs . Boeing has stated the V - 22 design loses 10 % of its vertical lift over a Tiltwing design when operating in helicopter mode because of airflow resistance due to the wings , but that the Tiltrotor design has better short takeoff and landing performance . With the nacelles pointing straight up in conversion mode at 90° the flight computers command the aircraft to fly like a helicopter , with cyclic forces being applied to a conventional swashplate at the rotor hub . With the nacelles in airplane mode ( 0° ) the flaperons , rudder , and elevator fly the aircraft like an airplane . The V - 22 is equipped with a glass cockpit , which incorporates four Multi - function displays ( MFDs ) and one shared Central Display Unit ( CDU ) , allowing the pilots to display a variety of images including : digimaps centered or decentered on current position , FLIR imagery , primary flight instruments , navigation ( TACAN , VOR , ILS , GPS , INS ) , and system status . The flight director panel of the Cockpit Management System ( CMS ) allows for fully - coupled ( autopilot ) functions which will take the aircraft from forward flight into a 50 ft ( 15 m ) hover with no pilot interaction other than programming the system . The V - 22 will usually mount an M240 or M2 on the loading ramp . BAE Systems developed the belly mounted Interim Defense Weapon System remotely operated gun turret system for the V - 22 . This system is remotely operated by a gunner inside the aircraft , who acquires targets with a separate pod using color television and forward looking infrared imagery . The IDWS was mounted on half of the V - 22 ' s in Afghanistan in 2009 , but only found limited use due to its weight . Operational history . USMC . Marine Corps crew training on the Osprey has been conducted by VMMT - 204 since March 2000 . On June 3 , 2005 , the Marine Corps helicopter squadron Marine Medium Helicopter 263 ( HMM - 263 ) , stood down to begin the process of transitioning to the MV - 22 Osprey . On 8 December 2005 , Lieutenant General Amos , commander of II Marine Expeditionary Force , accepted the delivery of the first fleet of MV - 22s , delivered to HMM - 263 . The unit reactivated on 3 March 2006 as the first MV - 22 squadron and was redesignated VMM - 263 . On 31 August 2006 , VMM - 162 ( the former HMM - 162 ) followed suit . On 23 March 2007 , HMM - 266 became Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 ( VMM - 266 ) at Marine Corps Air Station New River , North Carolina . The MV - 22 reached initial operational capability ( IOC ) with the U . S . Marine Corps on 13 June 2007 . On 10 July 2007 an MV - 22 Osprey landed aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier , HMS Illustrious in the Atlantic Ocean . This marked the first time a V - 22 had landed on any non - U . S . vessel . On 13 April 2007 , the U . S . Marine Corps announced that it would be sending ten V - 22 aircraft to Iraq , the Osprey ' s first combat deployment . On 17 September 2007 , 10 MV - 22Bs of VMM - 263 left for Iraq aboard the USS Wasp . The decision to use a ship rather than use the Osprey ' s self - deployment capability was made because of concerns over icing during the North Atlantic portion of the trip , lack of available KC - 130s for mid - air refueling , and the availability of the USS Wasp . They are primarily used in Iraq ' s western Anbar province for routine cargo and troop movements , and also for riskier " aero - scout " missions . General David Petraeus , the top U . S . military commander in Iraq , used one to fly around Iraq on Christmas Day 2007 to visit troops . Then - presidential candidate Barack Obama also flew in Ospreys during his high profile 2008 tour of Iraq . The V - 22 had flown 3 , 000 sorties totaling 5 , 200 hours in Iraq as of July 2008 . The MV - 22 was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009 with VMM - 261 , and saw its first offensive combat mission , Operation Cobra ' s Anger , on 4 December 2009 . Ospreys assisted in inserting 1 , 000 Marines and 150 Afghan troops into the Now Zad Valley of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan to disrupt communication and supply lines of the Taliban . In January 2010 the MV - 22 Osprey was sent to Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response relief efforts after the earthquake there , the aircraft ' s first humanitarian mission . In March 2011 two MV - 22s from the USS Kearsarge participated in a mission to rescue a downed USAF F - 15E crew member during Operation Odyssey Dawn . This was one of the first times that a USMC Osprey was used in a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel ( TRAP ) . USAF . The Air Force ' s first operational CV - 22 Osprey was delivered to the 58th Special Operations Wing ( 58th SOW ) at Kirtland Air Force Base , New Mexico on 20 March 2006 . This and subsequent aircraft will become part of the 58th SOW ' s fleet of aircraft used for training pilots and crew members for special operations use . On 16 November 2006 , the Air Force officially accepted the CV - 22 in a ceremony conducted at Hurlburt Field , Florida . The Air Force first used the Osprey on a non - training mission to perform search and rescue from Kirtland Air Force Base on 4 October 2007 . The US Air Force ' s first operational deployment of the Osprey sent four CV - 22s to Mali in November 2008 in support of Exercise Flintlock . The CV - 22s flew nonstop from Hurlburt Field , Florida with in - flight refueling . AFSOC declared that the 8th Special Operations Squadron reached Initial Operational Capability on 16 March 2009 , with six of its planned nine CV - 22s operational . In June 2009 , CV - 22s of the 8th Special Operations Squadron delivered 43 , 000 pounds ( 20 , 000 kg ) of humanitarian supplies to remote villages in Honduras that were not accessible by conventional vehicles . In November 2009 , the 8th SO Squadron and its six CV - 22s returned from a three - month deployment in Iraq . Variants . V - 22A HV - 22 SV - 22 MV - 22B CV - 22B Air Force variant for the U . S . Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) . It conducts long - range , special operations missions , and is equipped with extra fuel tanks and terrain - following radar . It replaced the MH - 53 Pave Low . Specifications ( MV - 22B ) . General characteristics . Crew : Capacity : Length : Rotor diameter : 3 Wingspan : Width with rotors : Height : Disc area : Wing area : Empty weight : Loaded weight : Max takeoff weight : Powerplant : Performance . Maximum speed : Cruise speed : Range : Combat radius : Ferry range : Service ceiling : Rate of climb : Disc loading : Power / mass :