MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- When first looking at an MV-22B Osprey, agility and speed are not typically the first ideas to come to mind. However, when ground enemies endanger the safety of the aircraft, the pilots do what it takes to steer clear of the danger.
This often includes an aerial roller coaster that leaves some of the strongest Marines feeling green, said Sgt. Richard W. Diezi, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 Osprey crew chief.
The pilots and crew chiefs of VMM-162 prepared for ground- threat reaction in a training flight, July 19.
Ospreys commonly face threats from missiles and small-arms fire, said Diezi. To respond to those threats, pilots use the aircraft’s nimbleness to evade any projectile weapons heading their way.
Diezi explained pilots will always turn away from machine-gun fire because they can outrun the small metal projectiles. However, pilots will turn the aircraft in the direction of missiles so it overshoots the target. The Osprey cannot outrun faster missiles.
For a better chance of surviving surface-to-air missile attacks, Ospreys carry chaff and flare countermeasures, said Diezi.
Chaff is a defensive system that uses many small strips of metal that confuses a missile’s radar system and makes it go after the more numerous targets instead of the aircraft.
“It looks like a bunch of paper mache exploded in midair,” said Diezi.
Heat-seeking missiles target the warmth of the Osprey’s engines. To combat this kind of projectile, Osprey crews launch flares that simulate an MV-22B engine. The missile goes after the decoy instead.
When the onboard computer picks up a missile lock, it alerts the crew. Whoever reacts first can push several different buttons throughout the aircraft to activate a flare.
The flares are located in separate locations on the aircraft and the onboard computer decides which one is closer to the missile and has the best chance of impeding the projectile.
Although these countermeasures may divert a missile, pilots still need to practice turning rapidly and pushing the aircraft to its limits in order to get out of the way, said Capt. John W. Perkins, VMM-162 Osprey pilot.
“The hardest part is putting it all together,” he said. “It’s important that pilots practice it. Once we get into it, it’s easy.”
Ground-threat reaction is important to practice so Osprey crews in combat zones can get out of bad situations alive, said Perkins.
The Osprey can handle sharp turns, swift acceleration and fast changes in altitude that passengers cannot handle, so Diezi suggested bringing multiple vomit bags.
At the end of the near vomit-inducing flight, the Osprey crews returned to the air station with a better sense of how to react to ground threats.