Marine Corps Col. Matt Mulhern, head of the V-22 Osprey program at NAS Patuxent River, Md., told reporters in Washington Wednesday that he expects DOD and Marine Corps leadership to sign off on an overseas deployment for the MV-22 as soon as this fall. However, he said the decision to go ahead remains the call of Commandant Gen. James Conway, who last month sang the aircraft’s praises but was not ready to commit publicly to a date.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.