Marines load an MV-22 Osprey prior to conducting low-altitude flight training Jan. 23 on Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Three Ospreys conducted the training, marking the Marine Corps'... (US Marines Photo by 1st Lt. Jeanscott Dodd)
Amid issues brought about by the grounding of the “USS Guardian” on the Tubbataha Reef, US military forces together with Philippine Air Force (PAF) personnel conducted a three-day bilateral exercise in Palawan with three MV-22 Bravo Ospreys, the world’s first tilt rotor aircraft.
Maj. Oliver Banaria, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 6th Civil Relations Group (CRS) based in Palawan, said it was the first time that the US Armed Forces landed their MV-22B Ospreys in the country.
A cross between a helicopter and a fixed wing airplane, the Osprey is a hybrid aircraft has the capability to “take off vertically like a helicopter and then reconfigure to fly like a normal aircraft.”
The US military also described it as “with a speed and range of a turboprop, the maneuverability of a helicopter and the ability to carry 24 Marine combat troops twice as fast and five times farther than previous helicopters.”
On Wednesday, January 22, three MV-22B Osprey aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Okinawa, Japan, arrived at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the three-day bilateral training.
Banaria said the low-altitude flight training was staged on routes approved by the Philippines government and that have been used previously in flight training exercises. The Wescom official added the exercise was scheduled long before the grounding of the USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef.
During the training, PAF personnel rode along with the U.S. Marine contingent and provided ground control and other interoperability training. Maj. Joshua T. Fraser, operations officer for VMM-265, said flights they conducted were “important for our pilots and crews to maintain proficiency.”
For his part, Tech. Sgt. Edwin Agang, operations chief for the PAF’s 570th Composite Tactical Wing, said: “The Marines are flying by the same rules and regulations the Philippine Air Force abides by and utilizing similar routes to ones flown by our aircraft.”
The training has also allowed the U.S. Marines and PAF personnel to share expertise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations during classes and discussions on the ground. The US Marines also gave a presentation on the capabilities of the MV-22 Osprey to the PAF. During the training, both countries’ service members also participate in a cargo loading exercise on the aircraft. “We appreciate the Marines coming here to train with us and are glad to host and support them at our base” said Agang.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/391187/mv22b-ospreys-used-in-joint-usph-air-force-training
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