Capt. Brett Cassidy and Maj. Taylor Fingarson, 8th Special Operations Squadron pilots, discuss in-flight operations at Hurlburt Field, Fl...
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| Capt. Brett Cassidy and Maj. Taylor Fingarson, 8th Special Operations Squadron pilots, discuss in-flight operations at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Aug. 12, 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jeff Parkinson) |
The CV-22s from the 8th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) were engaged in an evacuation of US citizens from the remote city of Bor, South Sudan, when they came under sustained ground fire from heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms fire.
The resulting damage caused multiple system failures, including the fuel system aboard all three aircraft.
According to the account, the three aircraft had flown 790 nmi through three countries to arrive at the United Nations compound in Bor in the early hours of 21 December 2013. Once the evacuees were located, the CV-22s made a brief reconnaissance overflight before making their turn into their final approach. Following which the formation came under fire, with 119 hits to the aircraft causing multiple system failures on each of the three Ospreys and wounding four special forces personnel.
With the CV-22s severely damaged, the rescue mission was aborted, and the aircraft immediately exited the danger area. The flight controls, fuel, and hydraulic systems were damaged on all three aircraft, and the formation had to co-ordinate in-flight refuelling hook-ups in order to make the 480 nmi to Entebbe in Uganda, where the injured personnel received medical treatment. The CV-22 equipped with the Cobham telescopic probe was refuelled from hose and drogue equipped tankers.
This mission has been deemed the most meritorious flight of 2013, earning the crews involved the prestigious Mackay Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association in the US.
The CV-22 took on the USAF's combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) role from the now-retired Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, having entered service in 2006.
Prior to this operation, the US Marine Corps (USMC) had shown the value of the Osprey as a CSAR platform, when two MV-22s operating from the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in the Mediterranean rescued the two-man crew of a crashed USAF Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle during the early stages of the no-fly campaign over Libya in 2011.
The USAF has so far inducted 33 of its 50 CV-22s, while the USMC has a programme-of-record of 360 MV-22s, of which about 170 have been delivered.
