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Bataan preps for Osprey shipboard deployment

ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP BATAAN — At sea, amid icy winds several miles off the coast of North Carolina, David Kouskouris is among the first sailors to lay hands on the Corps’ MV-22 Osprey.

“We, as deck handlers, have to understand how this aircraft moves around the deck,” said Kouskouris, a senior chief aviation boatswain’s mate (aircraft handling) (AW/SW) and the flight deck chief for the Bataan.

“Before, we only had computer-generated models. Now, we’re taking into account things like human error and wind conditions,” he explained from inside the ship’s flight deck control. As he spoke, he moved small Osprey-shaped plastic cutouts over a chalk-marked glass replica of the deck known as the “Ouija Board.”

After more than 20 years in development and a successful land-based tour in Iraq last year, the Osprey, the military’s first tilt-rotor aircraft, is preparing for its first deployment on a Navy ship. The Bataan Expeditionary Strike Group spent much of February training near Camp Lejeune, N.C., and getting ready for a trans-Atlantic pump with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in May.

The Osprey is replacing the CH-46 Sea Knight as the primary medium-lift aircraft for the MEU’s air combat element. The Osprey will be able to move twice as many Marines to shore twice as fast. (The Osprey can transport two dozen Marines with combat gear ashore at 250 mph.)

“This is going to be our first opportunity to see exactly what it can do from amphibious ships,” said Capt. Jack Sotherland, commodore of the strike group.

But the aircraft’s power creates unexpected challenges.

For example, Kouskouris said flight deck operators are reluctant to land an Osprey next to smaller helicopters such as the AH-1 Super Cobra or the UH-1 Huey because the tilt rotors’ massive downdraft could blow the smaller aircraft off a deck spot. He has formally asked for this restriction to be included in the Osprey’s future training programs.

The speed and range also raise new questions for Marine strategists. The old CH-46s typically flew ashore with close-air support from the Cobras and Hueys. But those smaller, slower helicopters can’t keep up with the Ospreys on long-haul missions.

Marines said some options for providing Ospreys with close-air support include:

• Using AV-8B Harriers, which are fast enough to keep up with the Ospreys and can provide fire support.

• Flying the Hueys or Cobras first so they’ll show up at the same time as the faster-moving Ospreys.

• Pre-positioning the smaller, slower aircraft on a ship closer to shore so they have less distance to travel and can arrive simultaneously with the Osprey.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all — we’re going to have multiple options,” said Col. Gareth Brandl, the MEU’s commanding officer.

On the flight deck, the Ospreys are folded and packed tightly near the bow because their size and design allows them to endure harsher weather conditions.

The tight space on the ship is forcing Marines to take advantage of the Osprey’s folding capability.

In its folded form, the aircraft takes up about the same space as a MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter. Yet when fully extended, “it’s a huge aircraft,” Kouskouris said.