The V-22 Scandal

The V-22 Osprey program is one of the largest scandals in the U.S. military.  Some 40 years ago, the Marines expressed a desire for an airplane that could land and take-off vertically like a helicopter. Several prototypes failed, including the latest model - the V-22 Osprey. However, a political caucus developed in the U.S. Congress to support funding. They joined forces with major contractors, Boeing and Bell, to keep the program going and hired retired Marine Generals to help hide flaws.

Unfortunately, the media lacks experts who understand how corrupt the weapons' procurement process has become. Reporters are happy to submit news releases from Bell-Boeing as news reports, and quote lies as facts. For example, the combat radius of a V-22 is only half that claimed if it carries a reasonable payload of 6000 lbs and 13,000 lbs of fuel so it doesn't need aerial refueling. G2mil produced a dozen articles over the years about this scandal. These are posted here along with insightful reports and news stories.

May 2019 - V-22 Fleet Wide Readiness Rate Hovers at 52% - it's probably worse

Nov 2017 - Precautionary Landing - Japan reveals the V-22 mishap rate is much worse

Oct 2017 - Just Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis Joins Board of Rolls-Royce

Sep 2017 - Osprey Modernization - V-22s will be rebuilt every five years

Aug 2017 - DoD Contract - $57,107,283 to upgrade one V-22

Mar 2017 - Tiltrotor Trial, Tribulation and Tragedy - tiltrotor unable to pass FAA tests

Feb 2016 - Osprey Falls from the Sky - the Hawaii mishap report

Jan 2016 - Osprey Mishap Rate in Afghanistan - extremely high

Jan 2016 - Forty Five Seconds - military unfairly blames V-22 crews for crashes

Oct 2015 - AW609 Tiltrotor Crashes - killing both test pilots

Aug 2015 - Osprey Readiness a Challenge - daily readiness at 45% to 58%

Jan 2015 - Marine Commandant Amos Retires and Joins Lord - V-22 parts maker

Oct 2014 - Israel Cancels V-22 Order - gift declined

Jul 2014 - Your Periodic Reminder that the V-22 is a Piece of Junk

Jan 2014 - Heat From F-35, MV-22 Continue to Plague Big Deck Amphibs

Oct 2013 - Official DOD-IG Report - Marines routinely fake V-22 readiness reports

Nov 2013 - Are the Marines Faking Reliability - false status reports

May 2013 - V-22 "Reputation Remake" Falls Flat - spinning facts

Apr 2013 - CV-22 is Ultra-Expensive to Fly - $83,256 an hour!

Sep 2012 - CV-22 Accident Report Distorted - says a V-22 expert

Aug 2012 - V-22 Class A Mishaps - a dozen hidden mishaps 

Aug 2012 - Hurlburt CV-22 Accident Report - roll over; hoist problems

Jul 2012 - U.S. Brass Applied Pressure - Air Force General demanded coverup

Jul 2012 - Is the Osprey safe? - not when it hovers

Jul 2012 - Four Recent V-22 Mishaps - no mechanical failures or pilot errors

May 2012 - CV-22 Crash Caused by Flight Manual - bogus HOGE chart

Mar 2012 - Flying the V-22 - an honest assessment from a retired V-22 pilot

Feb 2012 - Bell Offers New Medium Lift Helicopter - gave up on tiltrotors

Dec 2011 - Tiltrotor Costs Soar - up 61% in three years

Oct 2011 - Osprey Down - Marines shift story on safety record

Aug 2011 - Crash-Prone Hybrid Copter's New Mission - hauling the President's peeps

Jul 2011 - Bell Abandons its Civilian Tiltrotor - dumps a bad idea

Jun 2011 - Demand Drives Chinook Production to 2020 - no new V-22 orders

Apr 2011 - Former Marine Commandant Conway Joins Textron - deferred compensation

Jun 2010 - V-22 Osprey Downblast - is demonstrated by accident

Apr 2010 - The V-22 Disaster - end it now

Sep 2009 - V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor (pdf) - new congressional report

Aug 2009 - Finding MV-22s - broke down or not built

Aug 2009 - V-22: It's Time to Move On - Rotor & Wing says end it

Jul 2009 - NAVAIR News - problems with V-22 deck heating

Jul 2009 - 40 MV-22s are Missing! - where are they?

Jun 2009 - Congressional Hearing - Generals answer some questions

Jun 2009 - Congressional Hearing - Generals refuse to answer questions

Jun 2009  CRS Report - 181 V-22s procured, none in combat zones

Jun 2009 - GAO Report (pdf) - poor V-22 readiness

Jun 2009 - V-22 Lies Exposed - Congressional hearings

Mar 2009 - V-22 Alternatives - after shipboard failures

Nov 2008 - Why the V-22 is Still Unsafe - numerous flaws

Sep 2008 - V-22 Sticker Shock - a high price for low performance

Jul 2008 - V-22s Fail in Iraq - a successful cover-up

Feb 2008 - Why Tiltrotors Fail - a flawed design

Oct 2007 - Is there a Case for the Tiltrotor? - America's top expert says no

Oct 2007 - Giving the Osprey More Firepower - it needs it

Sep 2007 - A Flying Shame - a Time magazine expose

Jun 2007 - Internal USMC Message - about V-22 flaws

Mar 2007 - Commandant Says V-22s Will Crash - ready to battle critics

Nov 2006 - V-22 Videos - the Osprey wobbles

Mar 2006 - The Flawed V-22 Osprey and the Marine Corps - Col. Riccioni's report

Nov 2005 V-22 Fails OPEVAL - a cover-up ensues

Sep 2005 - Tiltrotor Comparison (pdf) - by rotorcraft expert Nic Lappos

Jun 2005 - NATOPS extracts (pdf) - warnings from the flight manual

Oct 2004 - V-22 Costs Soar - costs four times more than helos

July 2004 - Osprey or Albatross - the V-22 scam

Jan 2004 - The V-22 Continues to Fail - but still funded

Dec 2003 - Why the V-22 is Unsafe - IDA analysis

Aug 2003 - Safety Survey after OT-IIE - hidden from DoD leaders

Jun 2003 - Waiting for the Next V-22 Crash - soaring costs too

Nov 2002 - Col. Harry Dunn Letter - to President George Bush

Oct 2002 - V-22 Update - this scandal just grows and grows

June 2002 - An Expose' of V-22 "Facts" - Col. Dunn refutes the program manager

Apr 2002 - Keeping the V-22 Alive - the biggest scandal in US military history

Jan 2002 - Red Ribbon Panel Study - on the Marana accident

Jul 2001 - MV-22 Lies - keeping a failed program funded

Feb 2001- The V-22 Fiasco - too dangerous for combat