The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft—one that operates as a helicopter for takeoffs and landings and, once airborne, converts to a turboprop aircraft—developed to fulfill medium-lift operations such as transporting combat troops, supplies, and equipment for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force special operations. Figure 1 depicts V-22 aircraft in various aspects of use. The Osprey program was started in December 1981 to satisfy mission needs for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Originally headed by the Army, the program was transferred to the Navy in 1982 when the Army withdrew from the program citing affordability issues. The program was approved for full-scale development in 1986, and the first aircraft was flown in 1989. A month after the first flight, the Secretary of Defense stopped requesting funds for the program due to affordability concerns. In December 1989, the Department of Defense (DOD) directed the Navy to terminate all V-22 contracts because, according to DOD, the V-22 was not affordable when compared to helicopter alternatives, and production ceased. Congress disagreed with this decision, however, and continued to fund the project. In October of 1992 the Navy ordered development to continue and awarded a contract to a Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing Helicopters joint venture to begin producing production-representative aircraft. Low-Rate Initial Production began in 1997. In 2000, the MV-22 variant began operational testing, the results of which led the Navy’s operational testers to conclude that the MV-22 was operationally effective and was operationally suitable for land-based operations. Later evaluations resulted in testers concluding that the MV-22 would be operationally suitable on ships as well. Based on the same tests, DOD’s independent operational testers concluded that the MV-22 was operationally effective but not operationally suitable, due in part to reliability concerns. Despite the mixed test conclusions, a Program Decision Meeting was scheduled for December 2000 to determine whether the V-22 should progress beyond low-rate initial production into full-rate production. Following two fatal crashes that occurred in 2000 and resulted in 23 deaths, the last one occurring just before the full-rate production decision, the V-22 was grounded and, rather than proceeding to full-rate production, the program was directed to continue research and development while low-rate production continued. Before the V-22 resumed flight tests, modifications were made to requirements and design changes were made to the aircraft to correct safety concerns and problems. A second round of operational testing with modified aircraft was conducted in June 2005. Both Navy and DOD testers then recommended that the aircraft be declared operationally effective and suitable for military use. The Defense Acquisition Board approved it for military use as well as full-rate production in September 2005. The MV-22 deployments in Iraq were considered successful. As of January 2009, the 12 MV-22s deployed in Iraq and utilized by three separate squadrons had successfully completed all missions assigned to them including general support—moving people and cargo—in what was considered an established, low-threat theater of operations. These deployments confirmed that the MV-22’s enhanced speed and range enable personnel and internally carried cargo to be transported faster and farther than is possible with the legacy helicopters the MV-22 is replacing. According to MV-22 users and troop commanders, its speed and range “cut the battlefield in half,” expanding battlefield coverage with decreased asset utilization and enabling it to do two to three times as much as legacy helicopters in the same flight time. Cited advantages include more rapid delivery of medical care, more rapid completion of missions, and more rapid travel by U.S. military officials to meetings with Iraqi leaders. The MV-22 also participated in a few AeroScout missions and carried a limited number of external cargo loads. However, questions have arisen about whether the MV-22 is the aircraft best suited to accomplish the full mission repertoire of the helicopters it is intended to replace, and some challenges in operational effectiveness have been noted. Also, aircraft suitability challenges, such as unreliable parts and supply chain weaknesses, drove availability significantly below minimum required levels. The aircraft’s use in Iraq demonstrated operational challenges. For example, the introduction of the MV-22 into Iraq in combination with existing helicopters has led to some reconsideration of the appropriate role of each. Battlefield commanders and aircraft operators in Iraq identified a need to better understand the role the Osprey should play in fulfilling warfighter needs. They indicated, for example, that the MV-22 may not be best suited for the full range of missions requiring medium lift, because the aircraft’s speed cannot be exploited over shorter distances or in transporting external cargo. These concerns were also highlighted in a recent preliminary analysis of the MV-22 by the Center for Naval Analysis, which found that the MV-22 may not be the optimal platform for those missions. Availability challenges also impacted the MV-22. In Iraq, the V-22’s mission capability (MC) and full-mission capability (FMC) rates fell significantly below required levels as well as rates achieved by legacy helicopters. The V-22 MC minimum requirement is 82 percent, with an objective of 87 percent, compared with actual MC rates for the three squadrons of 68, 57 and 61 percent. This experience is not unique to Iraq deployment, as low MC rates were experienced for all MV-22 squadrons, in and out of Iraq. In comparison, the Iraq-based legacy helicopter MC rates averaged 85 percent or greater during the period of October 2007 to June 2008. Similarly, the program originally had a FMC requirement of 75 percent; but its actual rate of 6 percent in Iraq from October 2007 to April 2008 was significantly short of that, due in large part to faults in the V-22’s Ice Protection System. In areas where icing conditions are more likely to be experienced, such as in Afghanistan, this may threaten mission accomplishment. Repair parts issues and maintenance challenges affected the availability of MV-22s in Iraq. V-22 maintenance squadrons faced reliability and maintainability challenges, stemming from an immature supply chain not always responsive to the demand for repair parts and aircraft and engine parts lasting only a fraction of their projected service life. The MV-22 squadrons in Iraq made over 50 percent more supply-driven maintenance requests than the average Marine aviation squadron in Iraq. A lack of specific repair parts took place despite having an inventory intended to support 36 aircraft as opposed to the 12 aircraft deployed. However, only about 13 percent of those parts were actually used in the first deployment. In addition, many parts that were used were in particularly high demand, which led to a shortage that caused cannibalization of parts from other V- 22s, MV-22s in the United States, and from the V-22 production line. Thirteen V-22 components accounted for over half the spare parts unavailable on base in Iraq when requested. These 13 lasted, on average, less than 30 percent of their expected life, and 6 lasted less than 10 percent of their expected life. V-22 engines also fell significantly short of service life expectancy, lasting less than 400 hours versus the program estimated life of 500-600 hours. V-22 missions in Iraq represent only a portion of the operations envisioned for the aircraft, but operational tests and training exercises have identified challenges in the V-22’s ability to conduct operations in high-threat environments, carry the required number of combat troops and transport external cargo, operate from Navy ships, and conduct missions operating in more extreme environments throughout the world. While efforts are underway to address these challenges, success is uncertain since some of them arise from the inherent design of the V-22. High-Threat Environments: The Osprey was intended to operate across a spectrum of high-threat combat situations, facing a broad range of enemy land- and sea-based weapons. However, its ability to do so is not yet demonstrated. The V-22 has maneuvering limits that restrict its ability to perform defensive maneuvers and it does not have a required integrated defensive weapon needed to suppress threats while approaching a landing zone, disembarking troops within the landing zone, or while leaving the landing zone. Currently, the Marine Corps intends to employ the aircraft in a manner that limits its exposure to threats—a change from the original intent that the system would be able to operate in such environments. Transporting Personnel and External Cargo: Operational tests and shipboard training exercises have determined that the capacity of the MV- 22 to transport troops and external cargo is, in some cases, below program requirements. The V-22 cannot carry a full combat load of 24 Marines if equipped as intended. The average weight of each Marine fully equipped with improved body armor and equipment has risen from 240 to 400 lbs. As a result, the aircraft can only transport 20 fully loaded combat troops rather than the 24-troop requirement. Troop-carrying capacity may be further reduced in other configurations and flight scenarios. Most external cargo loads have not been certified for high-speed transport and thus would not enable the V-22’s speed to be leveraged. Anticipated new and heavier equipment would not be able to be transported by the Osprey. A 2007 Center for Naval Analysis study found that the MV-22 will not be able to externally transport heavier equipment, such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle—which is to replace the Marine Corps’ High-Mobility, Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). As a result, the study concluded that there will be less need for MV-22s for external lifting and an increased need for heavier lift helicopters. The weight of the MV-22 with added equipment planned as upgrades to currently configured aircraft may pose a moderate risk to the program. The heavier the aircraft is, the less it can carry.