In article ,
(Henry J. Cobb) wrote:

Will the increased cruising speed of the Osprey make it a better bet
for going downtown in the third world than the current fleet of
helicopters?

-HJC

It breaks down into a whole lot of variables. The higher ingress speed
and lower acoustic footprint of the V-22 will reduce the vulnerability
in that area. If you're operating out of a fixed area, the Bad Guys(r)
will know where you are a and will have all the time in the word to set
up a trap. The V-22 does have IR surpresors on the engines. Will they
fool an SA-7 idunno. All 22's will have chaff/flare dispensers. Will
they work? Maybe. The drive system is cross connected. That will
improve survivability. The V-22 accelerates, climbs, and flys far
faster than any other Helo. That might help. The composite body is
hell for stout. The surviving AC at the Marana AZ crash hit the ground
at more than 600 ft/min vertical speed. No damage. THe seats are made
to absorb energy in a crash. The CV variant will have DIRCM. DIRCM is
an SA-7's worst nightmare.

Add it all together and statistically, the V-22 will out survive the
helos in the down low environment.

--
Dana Miller