V-22

V-22, tilt-rotor military aircraft built by Bell Helicopter (a subsidiary of Textron) and Boeing. The V-22’s unique hybrid design, which combines features of a helicopter and a turboprop airplane, allows it to take off and land vertically. Once airborne, the V-22’s two wingtip nacelles, each bearing an engine and a 38-foot (11.6 metre) rotor, pivot 90 degrees from an overhead position to a forward-facing position to facilitate high-speed, fuel-efficient horizontal flight. Both the wing and the rotor blades fold for compact storage, enabling the aircraft to operate from ships or expeditionary airfields. The V-22 has a cruising speed about 276 miles (444 km) per hour and an operating ceiling of about 25,000 feet (7620 metres).

Developed in the 1980s and ’90s, the V-22 was designed to carry out a variety of missions including transporting troops and equipment, inserting and retrieving special operations units, and search and rescue with greater speed and range than conventional helicopters and greater maneuverability than fixed-wing aircraft. The prototype was first flown in March 1989. The V-22 was briefly grounded following fatal crashes during trials in May and December 2000. Testing was completed in 2005, and the aircraft had its first combat deployment in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007.