A new tilt to Air 8000?

But the retirement of the Caribou will still leave a unique niche capability, albeit one only occasionally used, unfulfilled. That aircraft’s ability to operate from northern Australia into austere and unprepared airstrips in areas such as the Solomon Islands, East Timor and PNG with troops and light vehicles will not be fully replaced by either the heavier C-27J or the shorter-legged CH-47F, so this is where the V-22 comes in.

The Osprey can carry 24 troops or an 8000kg payload more than 800km at speeds of more than 250kt (450km/h), twice the speed and four times the range of a Chinook, and yet still land vertically in a Chinook-sized clearing at the other end. Additionally, with its marinised dynamic components and folding wings and rotors, the V-22 would add the flexibility of being able to operate to and from the RAN’s two new Canberra class LHDs when they enter service next decade.

Possible sources of funding for the V-22 could come from either a supplemental allocation, from a new phase/s of Air 8000/9000, or perhaps even from the JP2097 Project Redfin Special Forces budget funding.

However, the prospect of a V-22 sale to Australia must be a difficult one for Boeing marketers, as it has the potential to undermine the possible additional CH- 47F Chinook sales. Difficult too for ADF planners, as a six to eight aircraft fleet including infrastructure, support, training and spares would likely be a $1. 2 to $1. 5 billion project, a particularly hard sell when there is no active requirement for the type, although not without precedent.

As for supporting the type in ADF service, the materiel and manpower costs of doing so may be mitigated by signing on to a comprehensive global in-service support package with Bell-Boeing and the USMC, similar to those contracted for the RAAF’s C-17s and forthcoming F/A-18Fs.

This could also give the USMC a maintenance option for its visiting or locally deployed MV-22s, not to mention the interoperability benefits.

For its part, Boeing, which makes the fuselage of the V-22 in partnership with Bell, sees active opportunities to place the Osprey in service with not only the ADF, but also the air arms of Japan and the UK.

However, there are many hurdles yet to be overcome.

The price of the aircraft is a major consideration, with current unit costs ranging between US$70 and US$85m (A$85m and A$103m) each, nearly triple that of a CH-47F Chinook. However, ADF and industry sources have suggested that if this unit cost can be cut to below US$60m (A$74m) through a possible FY08 multi-year procurement (MYP) contract with the US DoD, the ADF may be in a position to upgrade the V-22’s status from being more than just on a ‘wish list. ’ Boeing says the issues which resulted in two deadly crashes, a fleet-wide grounding and a significant re-design in 2000 are well behind the V-22 now, with the aircraft’s unique Vortex-Ring State (VRS) handling characteristics now fully understood, and this has been reflected in the confidence expressed in the aircraft in recent years by the USMC. Certainly, the first USMC deployment of the V-22 will be watched with interest by US procurement officials, program critics, and current and potential foreign customers alike. While the first squadron, VMM-263 will be deployed to Iraq on the USS Wasp in late September, two more squadrons will follow early next year and will likely self deploy across the Atlantic, a further demonstration of the type’s flexibility.

More than 70 V-22s have now been delivered and all are currently being upgraded to the fully operational Block B standard. The USMC currently has 360 MV-22s on order, while the USAF Special Operations Command has ordered 50 CV-22s which feature enhanced EW, Comms, and instrumentation.

The US Navy is currently dithering over an order for 48 V-22s which it would partially replace its CH-46s and some C-2 Greyhounds in the fleet replenishment role.

So, for the ADF, which in many ways is comparable to that of the expeditionary-bent USMC, perhaps there is room for a small fleet of between six and 10 V-22s.