The revolutionary MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has completed its engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase and has begun a seven-month operational evaluation (OPEVAL) by the Multiservice Operational Test Team (MOTT) to determine if it is ready for fleet service. If the aircraft passes its OPEVAL, it will be recommended for full-rate production for the Marine Corps.

The MOTT--composed of Marine Corps and Air Force pilots, aircrewmen, maintenance technicians, operations analysts, and engineers--will put the first four LRIP (low-rate initial production) MV-22B aircraft through approximately 700 flight hours and 350 test-flight sorties. The test flights--representative of operational flying--will take place at Marine Corps Air Stations in New River, N.C., and Yuma, Ariz.; Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.; Hurlburt Field near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and on amphibious warfare ships of the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific fleets. The test sites were chosen for their diverse climates, altitudes, and support facilities, according to Lt. Col. James Shaffer, deputy director of the MOTT.

The MOTT began conducting mock amphibious assaults in November using the MV-22B to carry Marines from ship to shore. These tests included over-water flight, night-vision-goggle use, low-level navigation, in-flight refueling, and carrying external cargo on single and dual hooks.

Tests to be conducted in 2000 include survivability, fast-roping, and formation flying. The MV-22B also will be used to assess the mission suitability of the CV-22B--the Air Force version now being developed--which is 90 percent common with the MV-22B.

The EMD phase--conducted by the V-22 Integrated Test Team--concluded in September following a second set of sea trials on the Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship USS Saipan and the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Tortuga. Tests included validation of the automatic flight control system and expanding the launch and recovery envelope for various landing spots on the ships. The Osprey lifted a 4,000-pound load on a single-point hook and, for the first time from a ship, a 6,300-pound HMMWV (high-mobility multiwheeled vehicle, or "Humvee") on a dual-point hook.

The EMD sea trials proved that the MV-22B could fly on and off any active Navy amphibious warfare ship. "This was one of our primary objectives in returning to sea the second time and now that we have established the launch and recovery envelope, the MV-22 is ready to move into Operational Evaluation," said Lt. Col. John Rudzis, V-22 government flight-test director.

Improvements made in the Osprey's flight-control system software were tested in the Manned Flight Simulator and the Boeing shipboard simulator before the sea trials. "Shipboard tests also validated the upgraded software which now enables the aircraft to respond more quickly and predictably to pilot inputs during takeoffs and landings," said Rudzis.

The commander of the Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Force and the commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center will review the MOTT's evaluation report and make a decision on the operational suitability and effectiveness of the Osprey, which is scheduled to enter full-rate production in fiscal year 2001.

Raytheon's Standard SM-3 Completes First Flight

The missile intended to be the point of the spear in the Navy Theater Wide (NTW) defense against theater ballistic missiles has successfully completed its first ship-launched flight test, Navy and Raytheon officials said. The first test round of the Raytheon-built Standard SM-3 surface-to-air missile was launched from a Navy cruiser at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

The first SM-3, designated Control Test Vehicle-1A (CTV-1A), was fired from the Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh in what will be the first of a series of at-sea test launches over the next two years. The test "demonstrated the weapon's airframe performance and reliability during launch, booster separation, second-stage guidance, and control through second-stage separation," Raytheon officials said.

The launch, designated the Aegis Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile Intercept (ALI), was controlled by the Aegis combat system built by Lockheed Martin Government Electronic Systems in Moorestown, N.J. The SM-3 has a third-stage motor that will boost it to altitudes high enough to intercept incoming missiles. For this test, no warhead was installed, and no target was launched. The missile reached its intended point in space, Raytheon officials said.

"This successful Standard Missile-3 test is the first integral step toward development of a robust Navy Theater Wide program," said Rear Adm. William W. Cobb Jr., program executive officer for theater surface combatants. "Navy Theater Wide is being developed as the key defense against the threat of incoming ballistic missiles for our troops and Marines ashore. The outstanding performance of SM-3 in this test proves we are well on our way."

"We are pleased with the test results and SM-3's performance," said Jerry K. Lockard, Raytheon vice president and general manager of Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. "The test validates the solid, incremental evolution of SM-3's technology and confirms our belief that it will perform exactly as designed once it is deployed with the fleet."

Bollinger to Modify Three Cyclone PCs

Three Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships (PCs) are scheduled to receive some of the mission enhancements that were built in the 14th ship of the class. Bollinger Shipyards, builder of the class, has been awarded a $5.1 million contract to modify the three ships at its indoor fabrication facility in Lockport, La.

The most prominent modification is a nine-foot hull extension--the Combat Craft Retrieval System--which will accommodate an angled ramp and two doors for underway launch and recovery of special warfare inflatable boats up to 32 feet in length. Structural modifications also will be made to the engine room on each ship.

Work begins this month on the USS Shamal, which will be followed by the USS Zephyr and the USS Hurricane. Each ship conversion is expected to take three months. Bollinger has a contract option for modification of a fourth PC, which, if exercised, would raise the contract value to $6.7 million. "Navy officials have indicated a desire to modify all of the Cyclone-class PC boats, but that is dependent on the budgeting process," said Robert Socha, vice president for marketing and sales at Bollinger.

Defense Industry Notes

U.S public port authorities will invest more than $9 billion over the next five years to improve and expand port facilities, according to Deputy Maritime Administrator John Graykowski. 

Boeing has completed structural proof testing of its X-32A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstration aircraft (CDA). The 34 individual tests validated the aircraft's ability to withstand the rigors of flight testing, company officials said. In a related development, Boeing successfully passed the final phase of a design review by the government's JSF Program Office.

J. Robert Bray, executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, has been installed as Chairman of the Board of the American Association of Port Authorities. Bray succeeds H. Thomas Kornegay, the executive director of the Port of Houston Authority. 

South Africa Approves Plan to Buy Corvettes and SSKs