Marines Praise V-22 Osprey Performance

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Marines Praise V-22 Osprey Performance
May 03, 2008
The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON - The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, built in Fort Worth and Amarillo, performed superbly in their first combat missions, the U.S. Marines, which flew the sometimes controversial craft in Iraq, said Friday.

Lt. Col. Paul Rock, the commander of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, who returned from Iraq last week, said he was proud of the hybrid helicopter-airplanes and those who flew them.

"We did the full spectrum of what the aircraft was meant to do," he said. "It was very satisfying to see how well it performed."

The Osprey is built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. in partnership with a Boeing Co. division near Philadelphia.

The Osprey's design, which allows it to fly quickly like a normal airplane then switch to helicopter mode to land, proved its worth on the two occasions it came under fire, Col. Rock said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/marines-praise-v22-osprey-performance.html