On Feb 7, 8:40*am, Vince wrote:

This turkey is the same weight and HP as a Ch-53 with a small fraction
of the payload

Plus a hell of a lot more speed and range. Which, IIRC, is the entire
point behind the tiltrotor, that it can go faster and further than
conventional helos. They're not in helicopter mode until and unless
they're touching down somewhere. Even if it's just being used as a
transport, it's still getting from point A to point B faster. And I've
read at least one report that Ospreys have been sent out with Marines
on insurgent hunts.