AFSOC's Osprey on 'operational pause'
HURLBURT FIELD — The Air Force is having trouble not just with older airplanes but also some of its newest.
Most F-15s have been grounded for some time. Now, the Air Force Special Operations Command has curtailed flying its version of the Osprey.
The Bell Boeing-manufactured V-22 tiltrotor transports encountered technical woes in early November that forced the restriction.
“As a precautionary measure, we put them on an operational pause,” said AFSOC spokeswoman 1st Lt. Amy Cooper.
AFSOC was reacting to a mishap involving the Marine Corps version of the V-22. An engine on one of its Ospreys, designated MV-22s, caught fire because of a malfunctioning air particle filter.
Cooper said three of the special operation command’s seven CV-22s have been repaired and returned to normal flying status. At least one of the three is flown by the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field.
The other four Ospreys should be flying shortly after the New Year, though they can be used now with the engine air particle separators disengaged. Cooper said that means operating CV-22s from asphalt runways, rather than austere fields where debris is more likely to be sucked into engines.
The latest problem with Ospreys is likely to provoke more criticism of the tiltrotors, which have troubled development history and hefty prices. According to an Air Force fact sheet, a CV-22’s sticker price is $89 million, but the figure excludes development costs.
Cooper said the operational pause isn’t expected to interfere with the push to get Ospreys and their crews combat-ready sometime in fiscal year 2009.
AFSOC is eager to get CV-22s into the fight as quickly as possible because, among other factors, it has been ordered to retire its MH-53 helicopters.
Like the Pave Lows, Ospreys will be used to take off and land vertically to insert and withdraw Special Forces troops from remote locations.
It’s unclear if the sole CV-22 operated by a 46th Test Wing detachment at Hurlburt was affected by the operational pause.