Marine Corps to double number of Ospreys on Oahu
COURTESY U.S. MARINES CORPS
An MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 (VMM-363) prepares to disembark its crew after arriving on Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Saturday.
COURTESY U.S. MARINES CORPS
A U.S. Marine stands by to guide MV-22B Ospreys assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 (VMM-363) as are they arrive on Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Saturday.
COURTESY U.S. MARINES CORPS
A “Red Lion” logo is shown on the rear of an MV-22B Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 (VMM-363), after arriving on Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Saturday.
The Marine Corps is about to double the number of tiltrotor MV-22B Ospreys it has to deliver Marines in a hurry from and to locations where fixed-wing aircraft can’t land.
Seven of the aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, VMM-363, landed Saturday at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, their new home station, the Marines said. The aircraft, formerly based in California, arrived on the amphibious ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which is participating in Rim of the Pacific exercises.
Another five will be sent to Hawaii to round out the squadron.
The first squadron of 12 Ospreys with VMM-268 arrived in Hawaii in 2016.
The 57-foot-long Osprey can take off like a helicopter, but once airborne, its signature 38-foot rotors tilt forward, and the MV-22Bs converts to a turboprop airplane capable of 322-mph maximum speeds.
The Marines say the Osprey can carry 24 combat troops twice as fast and five times farther than previous helicopters.
Combined with refueling capabilities, the two dozen Hawaii-based Ospreys will be “able to reach across the Pacific to respond to a crisis in a matter of days,” Third Marine Expeditionary Force Hawaii said in a release.
VMM-363, the “Red Lions,” was based at Kaneohe Bay with CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters until 2012, when it was moved to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to switch to Ospreys.
