IRAQ: The Osprey — ‘from a Gremlin to a Cadillac’

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After years of testing and controversy, the Marine Corps’ tilt-rotor helicopter, the Osprey, is making its war-zone debut.

Without fanfare, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, the Thunder Chickens, from New River, N.C., arrived in Al Asad late last year with 10 Ospreys.

The Osprey can take off like a helicopter and then fly like a plane at more than 300 mph. It’s busily ferrying troops and Iraqi VIPs around Anbar province and leading missions looking for insurgents in the expansive desert.

Lt. Col. Paul Rock Jr., Thunder Chickens commander, says the Osprey is exceeding all expectations.

‘We make this place a lot smaller with our speed and range,’ he said. ‘We can get our people to places that others can’t. We can fly up and over bad weather that would ground others.’

At more than $100 million a copy, and with a history of complex technical issues and fatal crashes in testing, the Osprey still has its critics. Philip Coyle, senior advisor at the Center for Defense Information, e-mailed The Times that, ‘The V-22 Osprey is like a bad poker hand and the Marines have been investing in it for years.’

Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway, in a recent trip to Al Asad, was bullish on the Osprey and said the challenge now is finding the right mission to take advantage of its speed and ability to carry 24 combat troops.

The pilots, most of whom moved to the Osprey after years of flying other Marine helos, say the speed and power is remarkable.

‘It’s like upgrading from a Gremlin to a Cadillac,’ said Capt. Danny Cohlmeyer.

— Tony Perry in Al Asad