The Army joins in on the test and evaluation of the V-22 Osprey as an airborne insertion vehicle for paratroopers and cargo.

By Nora L. Campbell

Just as air delivery and personnel airdrop are vital elements for the future of warfighting, so is the safety of our military troops. Airborne testing is a prerequisite for determining the safety and suitability of airborne items, equipment and aircraft. As part of an operational evaluation for the V-22, the U.S. Navy requested the U.S. Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC) Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD) conduct airdrop testing to validate static line (SL) airdrop procedures, military free-fall procedures and cargo aerial delivery procedures from this new aircraft.

Any new aircraft, item of airborne equipment or procedure needed to support airborne or special operations forces is tested by the ABNSOTD located at Fort Bragg, NC.

The ABNSOTD’s test mission thus directly supports the readiness of the Department of Defense joint service contingency and special operations forces. Testing is necessary to ensure that aircraft, materiel and procedures are technically safe and suitable for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines conducting their assigned missions around the world.

The V-22 is a new and different machine with unique capabilities to aid the warfighter in air delivery of equipment and personnel. The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor, twin-engine, twin-prop rotor, high-wing aircraft with a twin-tail design and retractable landing gear. The fuselage is designed to operationally seat two pilots, two crewmembers and 24 non-airborne troops. The tilt-rotor design combines the vertical flight capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a turboprop airplane which can conduct aerial refueling and worldwide self-deployment. The V-22 can fly in three modes: helicopter, conversion and airplane. Transition from helicopter to airplane mode takes about 12 seconds. This conversion allows the aircraft to take off faster and land in smaller places than an airplane with the capability to fly farther and faster than a helicopter, thus delivering troops and supplies more efficiently. These are the capabilities that make this aircraft an integral part of the U.S. Navy’s and U.S. Marine Corps’ warfighting concept of the future as well as a key platform for Air Force Special Operations Command.

Delivery of Troops

The ABNSOTD test team conducted V-22 personnel airdrop testing from August 30, 2004 through April 1, 2005. ABNSOTD test paratroopers conducted risk reduction airdrops at Fort Bragg, NC, before the use of operational troops. In fact, ABNSOTD test paratroopers made airborne history by conducting the first static line airborne operations from the V-22 aircraft at Fort Bragg. Marine Corps operational troops conducted airdrops at Camp LeJeune, NC.

During pre-test events, the test team determined that the seats on the V-22 aircraft were not sufficiently large enough to allow a fully outfitted paratrooper with full combat equipment to sit down and buckle up safely or comfortably. All jumpers were seated on the floor of the aircraft, and the seat retaining straps were routed through the main lift web and secured by buckling the seat straps together. A maximum of eight SL jumpers (MC1-1D/T-10/MC-5) without combat equipment were seated in one row on the floor of the aircraft. The maximum of eight SL jumpers with combat equipment were seated in two rows and merged into one stick for hook up to one anchor line cable. A maximum of 12 MFF jumpers (MC-4/MC-5), with or without combat equipment, were seated in two rows on the floor of the aircraft. Jumpers were required to complete a questionnaire after each airdrop to assess the safety and suitability of conducting personnel airdrops from the V-22.

Test paratroopers and operational paratroopers conducted pre-jump training activities consisting of pilot briefs, risk assessment briefs and jumpmaster personnel inspections. Before each airdrop jumpers were given instructions on proper exits from the aircraft. A proper exit consists of each jumper exiting the aircraft with a tight body position and placing their chin on their chest during exit from the aircraft ramp. Jumpers must walk off the ramp without conducting an up and out exit. Jumpers were required to use this exit technique to reduce the possibility of striking their heads on the upper portion of the clamshell ramp door or hitting the d-bags upon exit.

ABNSOTD test paratroopers and Marine Corps operational troops conducted 141 static line airdrops, and 164 military free-fall airdrops, with and without full combat equipment, from the V-22 aircraft ramp. Previous test results indicated an irregular d-bag flight pattern in the helicopter mode; therefore, static line airdrops were only conducted in the airplane mode using only one anchor line cable.

Delivery of Cargo

The ABNSOTD test team conducted cargo airdrops at Fort Bragg. Container delivery system airdrops consisted of A-22 pallets and Zodiac boats.

Twelve 2,200 pound A-22 pallets were deployed from the V-22 ramp. Eight pallets were deployed in conversion mode and four pallets were deployed in airplane mode at an altitude of 1,250 feet above ground level.

Three palletized Zodiac boats were dropped from the V-22 ramp. One Zodiac boat platform was dropped in the conversion mode, and two were dropped in the airplane mode at 130 knots. During the third airdrop, three MC1-1D static line paratroopers exited the aircraft after the Zodiac boat to determine the maximum number of jumpers that could exit with a cargo load.

V-22 Warfighting Capability

The test team determined that the V-22 is a suitable platform for conducting static line airdrops, military free-fall airdrops and container bundle delivery airdrops, using the procedures validated during the test. A follow-on test will be required to fully validate the V-22 for MC-5 static line and military free-fall with oxygen at high altitudes. This airdrop capability will allow the V-22 to meet a critical mission requirement of extending its range profile in direct support of the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ vision of employment in ship-to-shore warfighting of the future.

Nora Campbell is the chief editor for the ABNSOTD Test Division, Fort Bragg, NC.