IAF considers buying $65m aircraft capable of vertical take-off, landing
On combat missions the V-22 was included for the first time in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By Anshel Pfeffer Tags: Israel Air Force Israel newsThe air force has been debating the need to procure the V-22, an American-made transport aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing.
The V-22 is made by Boeing and has tilt-rotor capability, enabling it to hover like a helicopter during take-off and landing, but also fly at relatively high speeds on its turboprop engines once it is airborne. The aircraft is currently in operation with the U.S. Air Force and Marines and it is used for transport, rescue and special forces operations.
The V-22 flew for the first time in 1989 but technological development was slow, and only in the last three years was it placed in operational squadrons. On combat missions the V-22 was included for the first time in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The drawn out development process and technological difficulties with the tilt-rotor system made the aircraft considerably more expensive than originally planned; its current price stands at $65 million.
Israel's Air Force has been following the development of the V-22 for some time, as well as its performance in operational squadrons. A number of Israeli pilots, including the commander of the helicopter force, Brigadier General Yakov Shaharabani, had a chance to fly a V-22 during visits to the U.S.
A debate has been ongoing within the air force on whether to procure the aircraft, with the helicopter crews favoring the option because it would significantly improve their transport capabilities. The V-22 is capable of carrying similar loads to those carried by the CH-53 helicopter, which is currently in Israel Defense Forces use, but its speed, range and maximum altitude are double those of the helicopter. So the V-22 will enable commando and rescue operation at greater distances than those currently possible.
Opposing the V-22 option are senior air force officers, especially those in charge of procurement, who support buying more advanced CH-53 helicopters and C-130 turboprop aircraft to replace the aging fleets of existing transporters of the type. The C-130s and CH-53s currently in IAF service, purchased in the 1960s and early 1970s, are reaching the limit of their usefulness because of metal and other fatigue. Procurement section officers favor the acquisition of the C-130J and the CH-53K, the latter still in development stages.
Supporters of the V-22 argue that newer transports of the types already in service with the air force will not significantly improve its capabilities.
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Starving Gazan children - show me one picture of a Gazan starving like the millions who are malnourished in Africa. Targeting children on purpose - take a look at the number of children who died in Operation Cast Lead as a percentage of those killed. It is around 10 - 20%. Considering under 18s comprise over 50% of the population of Gaza it shows that the IDF did the exact opposite of targeting them.
The V-22 Osprey is a sexy idea but a sad money pit and flight crew death-trap. It is one of the most ridiculous boondoggles that the military industrial complex has ever produced. The C-130J is the most versatile and reliable military aircraft ever manufactured, you can outfit it as a flying broadcast station, a lingering gunship capable of delivering concentrated and withering hellfire, or as a transport it can land almost vertically (like the assault landing accomplished in Entebbe) and takes off from short runways, while climbing faster than a helicopter with outboard rocket pods for quick getaways in danger zones. Speaking of rockets, spend some money on launchers so you can lob a few hundred of those 120mm puppies back the other way in the next war. You know which ones I mean, they were recently captured from the Iranian supply ship . . . and thanks for all the free fish.
To play more war games using unarmed, starving Gazan children as the targets? What a sad, bully today's Israel is. Jews worldwide should be ashamed. Many American and European Jews certainly are.
All, Israel shouldn't buy the V-22 Osprey. It is a turkey. It doesn't work. It has already killed a number of US pilots in crashes. Please, please, please - don't buy this awful failed aircraft.
Give our special forces the tools they need,that tool is called the V22.