On Feb 5, 9:02*am, " wrote:
On Feb 5, 6:07*am, "Mr.Smartypants" wrote:

No one has really shot at them yet.

They'll be sitting ducks when in transition mode.

* * Moreso than a hovering helicopter?

That's helicopter mode. Mr. Smartypants thinks that somehow the
transition state, when the nacelles are neither horizontal nor
vertical, is something scary. The fact is, during transition, the
aircraft retains enough forward velocity to make the wings generate
useful lift, and if the pilot needs to lay on speed, those nacelles
can drop and those big blades can get that bird moving in a hurry.

Also, V-22 structures have been shot plenty of times in the test
phase. Its ability to take hits is not some nebulous unknown quantity.