According to a report by Flight Global, USAF officials believe brownout conditions caused the April 8 crash of a CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft that killed four, two Air Force Special Operations Command airmen, a US soldier, and a civilian. Flight Global attributes the information to “a source familiar with preliminary findings of the US military investigation.” DARPA and the services have been working for several years on varied solutions to the problem of brownout, the term used to describe a greatly reduced visibility condition often caused by rotary wing aircraft in desert-like terrain. (For more on brownout solutions, also see Special Operations Technology July 2009 report; Aviation Today April 2010 report)
U.S. aircraft, drones, and attack helicopters have launched significant airstrikes in recent days against Islamic State militants in Syria as part of the renewed air campaign against remnants of the group, U.S. officials said.
