Leave it to the Marines to always want more firepower. Word is that the Marine Corps is considering arming the MV-22 Osprey with new ‘toys’ which may include futuristic laser and sound wave weapons in addition to more traditional equipment like rockets and guns.
John “Bones” Parker, Tiltrotor Business Development manager for Boeing Co. and a former Marine aviator told reporters during a Boeing media event at the company’s facilities outside Washington, D.C., that officials have tested “forward firing weapons systems mounted [on] the fuselage” such as precision-guided 2.75-inch rockets, and the tube-launched AGM-176 Griffin missile “to demonstrate that the V-22 can fire both in the forward fight … and also 60 degrees.”
He said the intent is not to turn the V-22 into a close-air-support, AH-64 Apache or AH-1W Super Cobra-style attack gunship, but to have reinforcements.
“That would include a forward-firing gun, large caliber on the turret, precision-guided munitions out the front, out the back and out the hell-hole,” or in the hatch under the fuselage, he said. – Military.com
The stated goal of these new weapons packages is primarily aimed at supporting special operations missions giving the Osprey crew the ability to better assist the spec op teams moving in and out of hostile areas.
And who can tell everyone why the rotors on the MV-22 glow like that at night?
Featured image of and MV-22 Osprey by US Marine Corps
