Marine Aviation Plan 2015

[spazsinbad]

The amount of fuel offload has been mentioned before but mentioned again in this artikle by Hope of BUzzDod fortune.

For example fuel offload here on previous page: viewtopic.php?f=61&t=26629&p=340815&hilit=Whittle#p340815

New System Will Allow Ospreys to Refuel F-35s in Flight
26 Oct 2016 Hope Hodge Seck

"The British manufacturing company Cobham has been contracted to develop a system that will allows the Marines MV-22B Osprey to conduct in-flight refueling of other aircraft, notably the new F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.

Cobham announced Tuesday it had been awarded a contract from the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office to develop a “roll-on/roll-off” palletized refueling system, know as the V-22 Aerial Refueling System, or VARS. VARS will be based on Cobham’s existing FR-300 hose drum unit, used by the KC-130 for in-air refueling of other aircraft. With the system, according to a news release, the Osprey can conduct mid-air refuelings of the F-35 and the F/A-18 Hornet, from land or from off an aircraft carrier.

This, the release notes, will extend the fighter aircrafts’ operational range and loiter times....

...The refueling system will be developed at Cobham’s Mission Systems facility in Davenport, Iowa, according to the release. After testing, the first VARS kits will be delivered in 2018.

Adding mid-air refueling as a capability to the Osprey has long been a goal of Marine Corps aviation leaders. The Corps’ 2016 aviation plan calls aerial refueling a future MV-22 mission set, and states that the aircraft will eventually be able to conduct mid-air refueling for other tiltrotor aircraft and helicopters as well as fixed-wing fighters.

The plan also states that a fully capable VARS will be fielded in Fiscal 19.

“This system will be able to refuel all [Marine air-ground task force] aerial refuel capable aircraft with approximately 10,000 pounds per VARS-equipped V-22,” the document says."

Source: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2016/10/26/new-s ... 5s-flight/

[alx2]

The amount of fuel offload has been mentioned before but mentioned again in this artikle by Hope of BUzzDod fortune.

For example fuel offload here on previous page: viewtopic.php?f=61&t=26629&p=340815&hilit=Whittle#p340815

New System Will Allow Ospreys to Refuel F-35s in Flight
26 Oct 2016 Hope Hodge Seck

How does it compare with a Super Hornet in air refueling configuration??

[spazsinbad]

Some useful credible responses to that question here: http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.c ... BOHKXnr2Z8

Additional: http://www.japcc.org/wp-content/uploads ... an_web.pdf (6.2Mb)

[spazsinbad]

Cobham to develop VARS for MV-22B
28 Oct 2016 Marina Malenic

“Cobham has been awarded a contract by Bell Boeing to develop a palletised aerial refuelling system to give the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in-flight aerial refuelling capability, the company announced on 25 October.

The V-22 Aerial Refueling System (VARS) will use a modified version of Cobham's FR300 Hose Drum Unit. The roll-on/roll-off kit will allow the marines to use their Ospreys to refuel their combat aircraft. "We have been involved with the project since 2013," Asif Ahmed, business development manager at Cobham Mission Systems, told IHS Jane's on 27 October.

The first phase of the work involved trade studies, which are now being used to implement a defined set of Marine Corps requirements through initial operational capability. A final phase of work will take the system to full operational capability sometime in 2018, Ahmed explained.

The first version of the FR300 Hose Drum Unit was designed in the 1960s, and there are now about 450 units in use worldwide, according to Ahmed. The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules is the platform in which the system is most used.
Modifications needed for use in the V-22 include changes that will allow for the aircraft's ramp door to open and close while the hose is simultaneously extended and retracted in multiple positions, as well as unique electrical alterations that allow it to operate during both rotary- and fixed-wing modes. Still, Ahmed said "the bulk of system does not change", so the modification cost is expected to be low.”"

PHOTO: An early flight test of the VARS system, which Cobham is developing for Bell Boeing. A second phase of development is now under way, and a third and final phase will be completed by 2018. Source: Boeing http://www.janes.com/images/assets/993/ ... -_main.jpg

[b]Source: http://www.janes.com/article/64993/cobh ... for-mv-22b

[XanderCrews]

I love that test bed Osprey, its a workhorse. Verfying new filtration system and Nacelle concepts, The VARS, and the CAS attack demo.

[spazsinbad]

US Marines Set 2019 Target for Osprey Tanker Fit
07 Feb 2017 Jim Winchester

"The US Marine Corps expects to declare initial operational capability for the Bell Boeing V-22 Aerial Refuelling System (VARS) in late 2019, with the milestone to represent the availability of an initial four mission-equipped aircraft.

VARS will be qualified with the USMC’s Boeing AV-8B, F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin F-35B strike aircraft and Sikorsky CH-53 fleets, although a testing timeline has yet to be worked out, says Lt Col Douglas Ogden, MV-22 military platform lead at the V-22 joint progamme office. The service had originally hoped to have the in-flight refuelling system ready to support initial operations with the F-35B, but a contract award was delayed until October 2016.

Cobham Mission Systems will begin delivering production VARS sets during 2018, with the equipment based on its existing FR300 hose-drum unit. Proximity trials performed with F/A-18s in 2013 and 2015 identified no issues with the fighters flying close behind the tiltrotor, Ogden told the IQ Defence International Helicopter Conference in London on 1 February...."

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... it-433899/