JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) 22 conducted Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) missions in Colorado Springs, Colo., to test the biannual software update of the MV-22B Osprey, Sept. 20-25.
VMX-22 went with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion (MSOB) to the higher altitude in Colorado to push the Osprey to its limits.
“VMX-22 executed all planned testing and collected a great amount of data at the higher-density altitude,” said Maj. Sam Clark, VMX-22 projects officer.
Three MV-22B Ospreys took off early Friday morning and completed a 1,350-nautical mile TRAP mission, followed by shorter TRAP exercises.
“We focused on the TRAP mission starting with the long-range mission from New River to Pinion Canyon; the other missions conducted were shorter range TRAP missions to Pinion Canyon and Leadville, Colo.,” said Clark. “The longer TRAP mission provided the needed mission profile for our test to give us a broad range of test data that could be collected.”
MV-22B Osprey software update helped the pilots of VMX-22 have more control over the cyclic, commonly referred to as the “stick” while hovering 20-30 feet above the ground; the update also cleared up some other glitches within the system.
The Marines of the unit worked from sunrise to sundown to get as much testing as possible done in the time spent in Colorado.
“The exercise was a success; the test ensured that the new software in the MV-22B that will go to the fleet later this fall is acceptable for the missions the fleet users will be executing,” Clark said.