V-280 Valor: How the U.S. Army Might Have Learned from Its Mistakes and Built a Super Weapon

[rangerrebew]

V-280 Valor: How the U.S. Army Might Have Learned from Its Mistakes and Built a Super Weapon


Could it be a game changer?
Task and Purpose [2]Jared Keller [3]

After years in development, the future of vertical lift [4] has finally arrived on the Army’s doorstep: Bell Helicopter’s advanced V-280 Valor tiltrotor prototype finally took its maiden flight at a test facility in Amarillo, Texas, the company announced [5] on Dec. 18 — a major milestone for a next-gen aircraft designed to meld the tactical maneuverability of the branch’s current rotary fleet with the range and force projection of fixed-wing troop transports.


Source URL (retrieved on December 31, 2017): http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/v-280-valor-how-the-us-army-might-have-learned-its-mistakes-23847

[thackney]

The now-widely adopted Marine Corps V-22 Osprey developed a reputation as “dangerous and unreliable” after four deadly crashes claimed the lives of some 30 personnel during testing between 1991 and 2000, according to Fortune; as recently as August 2017, an MV-22 Osprey crash off the coast of Australia killed three Marines.

I don't understand why the Osprey continues to get press as if it is an unsafe aircraft, when compared to the helicopters it is meant to replace, is far safer.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a7663/how-safe-is-the-mv-22-osprey-8036684/
Apr 12, 2012

... But look at the record: Despite its controversial reputation, the Osprey is actually the safest Marine Corps rotorcraft in combat...

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/v-22-losses.htm
2017

...The Marine Corps’ aviation safety records and standards are publicly available at the Naval Safety Center website. The mishap rate that the Marine Corps has used publicly for the MV-22 follows Naval Safety Center standards that are applied universally across all type/model/series in the Navy and Marine Corps inventory. Those records bear out that the MV-22 has the lowest Class A flight mishap rate of any tactical rotorcraft in the Marine Corps fleet over the 10 years 2001-2011...

[endicom]

The V-280 may be how the Army finally gets around the restriction on fixed-wing aggressor aircraft.

[RetBobbyMI]

The V-280 may be how the Army finally gets around the restriction on fixed-wing aggressor aircraft.

The Army STILL needs their own Air Corps. The former version doesn't have the backs of ground troops any more, except for A-10 pilots.