Pentagon Gearing Up to Resume Testing of V-22s
Otis Willie
(EXCERPT) Fri Mar 22, 1:41 PM ET, by Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s acquisitions
chief said on Friday the military was preparing to begin an intensive
new two-year round of flight testing on the troubled V-22 "Osprey
(news - web sites)" tilt-rotor military helicopters.
But Defense Undersecretary Pete Aldridge said the Pentagon, which
plans to resume testing the aircraft on April 29, would not hesitate
to pursue an alternative helicopter if problems continued to plague
the $40 billion program, which was grounded after two fatal training
crashes in 2000 killed 23 Marines.
Aldridge said he and Navy Secretary Gordon England would carefully
review the plans for new testing of the $40 billion program before
allowing it to proceed.
"I will not approve the flight test program start unless I'm pleased
that the flight test plans meets all the criteria that I believe need
to be met," he said.
The Pentagon decided last year to scale back production of the
aircraft for development purposes and conduct a tougher testing
program to determine if the Marine Corps will finally buy as many as
360 Ospreys, which use swiveling engines to take off and land like a
helicopter while flying like a plane.
Aldridge said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones was also
actively examining alternative aircraft, and the Pentagon was ready to
shift gears if further problems developed with the Osprey, built by
Bell Helicopter Textron, a unit of Textron Inc. and Boeing Co.
"We can make that decision at any point," Aldridge told reporters. "If
we see some problems occurring early in the flight test program, we
may not continue it. We may stop and head off in another direction."
The corps still hopes the V-22, can replace its fleet of aging
Vietnam-era troop-carrying helicopters, but it was examining
alternatives if the Osprey failed to pass muster.
"In case it does not, he has to have something to replace his
helicopters," Aldridge said.
Aldridge said at least two years of flight tests were planned under a
strict regime before full production could begin, but tests could take
even longer if needed.
The Pentagon on Tuesday awarded the Bell-Boeing aerospace team a $770
million contract to build 11 Marine versions of the V-22s by 2005.
The new intense testing program will explore low-speed hover
conditions, such as landing when the propellers blow up dust and other
debris. The testing will also include combat maneuverability and
storage conditions aboard ships.
In addition to the Marine Corps, as many 100 additional Ospreys could
be bought by elite Special Operations and other U.S. forces if the
helicopter proves itself.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020322/pl_nm/arms_usa_osprey_dc_2
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Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com