http://www.beyond2000.com/news/Jul_00/story_711.html BLACK OPS OSPREY Chunky and unattractive as it is, to a downed F-16 pilot huddling in a ditch behind enemy lines, it would be the sweetest sight imaginable. For the elite squads of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) though, it will be their ride to work and their office rolled into one. This week, the AFSOC troopers caught a glimpse of their future work environment as the first test and operational CV-22 was unveiled at Bell Helicopter Textron's plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The tilt-rotor aircraft is a modified version of the V-22 Osprey, which the US Marine Corps is introducing as a troop carrier and weapons platform. However, the AFSOC Osprey is a far sexier and more specialised beast, not intended for merely ferrying grunts and rations around. It is the first aircraft purchased specifically for use by the Air Force commandos; in recent years the primary AFSOC aircraft were conventional machines that were slightly modified after the fact to meet the Special Operations Forces mission. AFSOC is the Air Force's most irregular division. In formal terms, they describe their mission as "unconventional warfare, counter-proliferation, direct action, psychological operations, special reconnaissance, civil affairs, combating terrorism, foreign internal defense, and information operations." What this means exactly is often shrouded in the red tape of Pentagon secrecy, but AFSOC aircraft are assumed to be involved in so-called 'black operations'; those demanding deep and clandestine penetration of hostile (or friendly!) territory. The troopers might be interdicting enemy supply lines, transporting spies or raiding teams or sabotaging enemy communications networks. Rescuing downed aircrew or POW's is also part of their brief. Paving the way Until now the two aircraft most commonly associated with AFSOC were heavily-modified C-130 Hercules planes and the Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low helicopter. The C-130's are set up in a multitude of different formats for use as transport, electronic warfare and even TV broadcasting. The most interesting version is the C-130U "Spooky" gunship, which features a side-firing 105mm howitzer! The Pave Lows were used for low-level infiltration and rescue missions. As the V-22 Osprey was working through its agonisingly slow evolution, AFSOC decided that it would be an ideal aircraft for its operations, combining as it does the mobility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a plane. Realising that the basic version being built for the Marines wouldn't meet their criteria, the group exerted their influence on the design of the aircraft from its early stages. The result is the CV-22. The primary difference between the Air Force CV-22 and the Marine MV-22 is the advanced avionics equipment the Air Force aircraft will carry. The equipment will allow special operations forces to penetrate hostile territory using weather, terrain and darkness to their advantage. The Air Force version can also carry 4,000 pounds more fuel, increasing its range by 90 minutes. (Up to 900 km.) In-flight refueling from the command's own tanker aircraft can extend this even further. The CV-22 fuselage is slightly smaller in than the Pave Low, but can transport similar weights and up to 24 infantrymen. Both aircraft feature a large ramp at the rear for rapid troop deployment and/or the mounting of machine guns. The real difference though is in speed: after transitioning to horizontal flight, the CV-22 can travel nearly twice as fast as the conventional rotorcraft and do it on less fuel. Job description? In a typically ambiguous statement, AFSOC officials lauded the CV-22 but emphasised that it is not a replacement for the MH-53 Pave Low. They say it "provides for many of the capabilities of the Pave Low as well as some of the missions of the command's C-130 assets, while still adding its own unique contributions to the command's capabilities." In other words, they're not hanging up their old choppers yet, and they're certainly not telling us what they'll be using the new aircraft for. The rollout of the CV-22 signals the beginning of a two-year period of operational testing and evaluation by AFSOC at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The first six operational aircraft are expected to arrive by 2004 and will be the first of a total of 50 aircraft planned for purchase. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Related stories: V-22 Osprey Related links: Boeing V-22 page AFSOC Copyright � 2000 Beyond Online Limited. All rights reserved. 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