Model Discription:
- Tamiya Italeri 1:48 Scale Model Plane Collection (Limited Edition) V-22 Osprey w/Japan Deployment Markings
- Length: 289mm
About the Osprey
The V-22 Osprey is the world&8217;s first operational tilt-rotor transport aircraft, capable of vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter and relatively fast forward flight like a prop plane. Variants of the V-22 include the marines&8217; MV-22, the navy&8217;s HV-22 and the air force&8217;s CV-22.
Why are Ospreys being deployed to Futenma
The U.S. Marine Corps is in the process of replacing its CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, which are to be retired in 2014. Currently, about 140 Ospreys have been deployed to Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina and at Miramar Air Station in California.
The fast-deployment Osprey will play a major strategic role in connection with the force deployment changes planned for the U.S. military presence in Asia. The changes include deploying marines to Darwin, in northern Australia, and to Guam.
The Osprey are expected to be an indispensable part of the marines&8217; transport equipment, because the project to develop a next-generation amphibious vehicle has been canceled and one to create a vertical takeoff and landing-capable marine version of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has been delayed.
What can the Osprey do
For the U.S. military, the Osprey is a dream aircraft that provides greater flexibility and capabilities, including flying at higher speeds and offering greater range than the CH-46.
Ospreys have been involved in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and in disaster relief in Haiti.
The standard V-22 has a maximum cruising speed of 275 knots (520 kph), twice that of the CH-46, and with its in-flight refueling capabilities, the aircraft can be launched from carriers out at sea, well beyond the threat of coastal mines.
The Osprey&8217;s operational area is also quadruple that of the CH-46, which has a combat radius of 140 km, barely covering the Okinawan islands.
The Osprey&8217;s combat radius can be extended by as much as eight times farther with aerial refueling, thus any based in Okinawa can reach Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai and the northern Philippines.
In the Middle East, the Osprey&8217;s combat area could cover an area the size of Iraq, Syria and part of Saudi Arabia and Iran if flown from the al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq&8217;s Anbar Province, whereas the CH-46 can basically only operate over an area the size of Iraq.
&8220;If a crisis were to erupt in North Korea, the Osprey would be quicker to respond,&8221; said Narushige Michishita, associate professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
