Bell Boeing, a partnership between Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. [TXT] and Boeing [BA], successfully tested the potential use of the V-22 Osprey as an aerial refueling tanker, the company said yesterday.
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| Photo: Bell Boeing. |
The test saw a V-22 with a prototype refueling system fly alongside and in front of an F/A-18C and an F/A-18D Hornet. The demonstration examined the refueling drogue’s stability. The prototype system did not make contact with the Hornets, but provided a “proof of concept,” according to Bill Schroeder, a Bell Boeing spokesman.
“[The drogue] pulled remarkably straight and level,” he said.
The test also showed that the aircraft were flying smoothly without turbulence next to and behind the V-22.
“Adding this capability to the tiltrotor aircraft would further advance its versatility in combat, humanitarian and ship-based operations,” Bell Boeing’s release said.
The flight was performed in late August over Texas. Schroeder said the company’s next step is to analyze the results and meet with its government partners to discuss a future plan for the refueling system.
Schroeder said Bell Boeing fully funded the prototype test.
“There is a lot of interest in the aerial refueling in the Navy and the Marine Corps,” he said. “We’re responding to that customer interest.”