Tomorrow’s Pentagon Demonstration of Tiltrotor Technology Marks Advent of a Brave New World for Military, Aviation

(Washington, D.C.): From 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, the Defense Department will
showcase
the first production tilt-rotor aircraft, Marine Corp’s MV-22 Osprey and its experimental
predecessor, the XV-15. The Osprey’s tiltrotor technology makes it the world’s only transport
plane capable of taking-off and landing vertically and converting in-flight to fly at speeds
comparable to conventional turbo-props.

Such a capability promises, quite simply, to revolutionize military
aviation. The Pentagon long
ago identified at least eleven different missions to which tiltrotor technology could be effectively
applied. These include, notably: rapid movement of Marines and their materiel, special
operations forces and combat search-and-rescue personnel. As the Marines begin to operate
these aircraft, moreover, it seems certain that the demand for planes with the inherent flexibility,
speed, survivability and cost-effectiveness of the V-22 will only grow.

As the armed forces validate tiltrotor technology, moreover, the United States stands to
benefit
from its enormous potential in various civilian applications, as well. The private sector
anticipates myriad uses for V-22 derivatives — including executive aviation, disaster relief,
medevac, short-haul transport, package express, etc. In addition, the export market for an aircraft
that offers such myriad benefits while requiring minimal infrastructure is potentially huge, both
in developing nations and in developed nations where geography and/or demographics deny
communities the air service they require.

Incredibly, the United States very nearly lost the opportunity, thanks to this genuine
“peace
dividend,” to be the world leader in tiltrotor technology. In early 1990,
then-Secretary of
Defense Richard Cheney was poorly advised and decided to cancel the V-22 program
as a cost-saving measure. But for the insistence of the Marine Corps that this aircraft was
essential if it
were to retain — indeed, to increase dramatically — its combat lift and power projection
capabilities despite the approaching block obsolescence of it existing inventory of medium lift
helicopters, and the indefatigable support of visionary congressional leaders, there would be
no
production aircraft on display at the Pentagon tomorrow. Worse yet, the Nation would be denied
the chance to dominate future battlefields, at less cost in terms of American lives, and to expand
commercial markets thanks to the extraordinary tiltrotor.

The Center for Security Policy has for nearly a decade been a strong advocate of the V-22
and its
fullest possible exploitation for both military and civilian purposes. It commends
President
Clinton for wisely deciding, early in his first term of office, to reverse the decision by
his
predecessor’s administration to cancel this vital program. The Center also applauds
Secretary of
Defense William Cohen for hosting tomorrow’s celebration of the coming to fruition of
the
tiltrotor dream.