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Arming the V-22
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February 25, 2008: The U.S. V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft is being equipped with weapons. U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has had a GAU-2B machine-gun fitted to the bottom of a V-22.  This is a remote control turret version of this six-barrel 7.62mm machine-gun. This system has a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute (50 per second), and max range of 1,500 meters. The system weighs a few hundred pounds and includes 4,000 rounds of ammo. A member of the crew uses a video game like interface to operate the gun.  This weapon is part of the Universal Turret System (UTS) for Helicopters. Plans for arming the V-22 have been discussed for eight years. The original proposal was for a UTS equipped with a 12.7mm machine-gun. That has a longer range (about 2,000 meters), but the GAU-2B could lay down more bullets more quickly. Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan indicated this would be a more useful defensive measure.

 

The U.S. Department of Defense has approved the purchase of 171 V-22 aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps, and 31 for U.S. Air Force units operating with SOCOM (Special Operations Command). The plan involves buying up to 35 V-22s a year, from 2008 to 2013.

 

The marine MV-22s can carry 24 troops 700 kilometers (vertical take-off on a ship, level flight, landing, and return) at 400 kilometers an hour. The MV-22 is replacing the CH-46E helicopter, which can carry 12 troops 350 kilometers at a speed of 200 kilometers an hour. The MV-22 can carry a 10,000-pound external sling load 135 kilometers, while the CH-46E can carry 3,000 pounds only 90 kilometers.

 

The U.S. Air Force component of SOCOM will use the V-22 to replace the current MH-53J special operations helicopters. Unlike the U.S. Marine Corps version, the SOCOM CV-22B will have lots more expensive electronics on board. This will help the CV-22 when traveling into hostile territory. The CV-22 also carries a terrain avoidance radar, an additional 900 gallons of fuel and more gadgets in general. The 25 ton CV-22 is a major improvement on the MH-53J, with three times the range, and a higher cruising speed (at 410 kilometers an hour, twice that of the helicopter). The CV-22 can travel about nearly a thousand kilometers, in any weather, and land or pick up 18 fully equipped commandoes. The SOCOM CV-22 won't ready for combat for another two years.

 

The V-22 is the first application of the tilt-rotor technology to do active service. The air force is already working on improvements (to make the V-22 more reliable and easier to maintain), but these won't be installed for another four years. The V-22 will give the marines and SOCOM a lot more capability, but, as it often the case, it will be a lot more expensive. The initial production models of the CV-22 will cost over $60 million each. SOCOM insists on a high degree of reliability for its aircraft. Commando operations cannot tolerate too many mistakes without getting fatally derailed.

 

The armed SOCOM V-22 provides an option that the other users can easily adopt. The machine-gun turret is mainly there for protection from local threats, not for turning the V-22 into an assault aircraft.

 

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kensohaski       2/25/2008 8:51:52 AM
Indeed putting defensive guns on the V-22 is a good idea.  I have the feeling however that there are way too many "Jesus nuts" on this aircraft.
 
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phrogdriver       2/25/2008 3:58:48 PM
Seeing as, unlike every helo with a semi-articulated rotor head there are ZERO ACTUAL "Jesus nuts" on the V-22, what figurative Jesus nuts are you referring to?
 
Although guns are great, and everyone points to a gun as the end-all-be-all, they've been used virtually never in the actual defense of assault aircraft in OIF/OEF.  In terms of threat reduction and saving aircraft, we'd be better off with DIRCM or a similar system against MANPADS and making sure brownout capability is wired.  Not saying a gun isn't a good thing, but the BLUE threat, and the MANPAD threat have been much greater than the Hadji in the LZ threat of late.
 
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dont_tread       2/25/2008 4:07:37 PM
Although guns are great, and everyone points to a gun as the end-all-be-all, they've been used virtually never in the actual defense of assault aircraft in OIF/OEF.  In terms of threat reduction and saving aircraft, we'd be better off with DIRCM or a similar system against MANPADS and making sure brownout capability is wired.  Not saying a gun isn't a good thing, but the BLUE threat, and the MANPAD threat have been much greater than the Hadji in the LZ threat of late.


wow..... if it weren't for all of the alphabet soup, I might actually be able to understand what you're talking about.
 
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smitty237       2/25/2008 6:34:00 PM

Seeing as, unlike every helo with a semi-articulated rotor head there are ZERO ACTUAL "Jesus nuts" on the V-22, what figurative Jesus nuts are you referring to?

 

Although guns are great, and everyone points to a gun as the end-all-be-all, they've been used virtually never in the actual defense of assault aircraft in OIF/OEF.  In terms of threat reduction and saving aircraft, we'd be better off with DIRCM or a similar system against MANPADS and making sure brownout capability is wired.  Not saying a gun isn't a good thing, but the BLUE threat, and the MANPAD threat have been much greater than the Hadji in the LZ threat of late.


Please clue us knuckledragging land cavemen as to what "Jesus nuts" are.  I'm sure it's one of those funny little military terms of endearments, and I love to keep up with those. 
 
I have to take issue with you a little bit on your last point (at least the part I could understand).  Defense against anti-aircraft missiles such as the SA-7 and Stinger (MANPADs) are definitely desireable, but the primary purpose of a gun on a transport helicopter is not necessarily to engage targets, but to lay down suppressive fire.  When zooming into a "hot" LZ you want to buy as much time as possible to do whatever it is you want to do, whether it be inserting troops into an area or getting them out of an area, and then get the machine off the ground and out of the AO.  The best tool that you can equip a chopper (or MV-22) with to buy that time is gun, and the more lead it can throw down the better.  The GAU is perfect for this role.    Firing at 3,000 rounds per minute, the GAU is laying down fifty rounds a second, and if you're a Islamofascist irregular or Taliban goon that kind of firepower coming at you will motivate you to either keep your head down or unass the AO.  That gives the SOCOM boys time to either get off the craft and find cover on the ground, or break cover and get on the aircraft. 
 
I remember seeing an artist's conception of the V-22 a number of years ago that included a gunship version.  I wonder if that's still on the books.
 


 
 
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phrogdriver       2/25/2008 8:48:23 PM
The original term "Jesus Nut" referred to the component that caps the mast on a 2-bladed helicopter.  It is a possible "single point of failure," i.e. if it comes off, the rotor comes off, and you're going to see Jesus.  I assumed the earlier poster meant there were other single point of failure items on the V-22, and I'd like to hear what he thinks those are.
 
DIRCM=Directional Infrared Countermeasures.  A system that sees an incoming IR missile and directs a beam of IR energy at it to defeat its seeker head.
 
MANPADS=MAN Portable Air Defense System, e.g. SA-7,14,16,18; Stinger; Mistral, etc.
 
LZ=Landing Zone
 
BLUE threat=the danger posed to us by us, e.g. we've killed a lot more aircrew by rolling helos due to brownout in dusty zones than by enemy action.  The RED threat is what Hadji (generic slang term for denizens of the Middle East) does to us.
 
I'm not saying a gun isn't a good thing.  I'd sure like an all-quadrant gun.  However, money is finite, so you have to put the money against what has the best chance of killing you.  Everyone gets all emotional about suppressing the "hot LZ," making it sound as if we're still fighting the village scene in Apocalypse Now.  Truth is, there are only a couple instances where aerial gunners engaged targets in the zone in OIF I, and perhaps none in OIF II to present. 
 
Where have we taken losses?  Brownout, for one.  Luckily, the V-22 has probably the best low-visibility landing aids in non-special ops helos in military service today.  They could be better, though.  When I was in Afghanistan, my squadron totalled 1 helo and damaged 3 more due to brownout, while experiencing no losses to enemy action.
 
We've also taken losses due to MANPADS.  That's where my next priority would be.  I'd really like a sh!ton of flares, with all the trimmings, and a laser or IR countermeasure system, as well.
 
AFTER I get those, THEN I'd sure love a frickin gatling gun.  Better yet, a Bofors .40.  As they said in Johnny Dangerously, "It shoots through schools."
 
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