MV-22 Tilt-Rotor to Launch Drones Midair

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Helicopters, tilt-rotors and other low-slow flying vehicles are often put in incredibly vulnerable situations. Whenever a vertical landing aircraft is sent on an evacuation or extraction mission, the most sensitive moments for the aircraft and its crew is when troops are being loaded onto it, especially if in hostile territory. Because of this, the United States Marine Corps has been looking at ways to upgrade the situational awareness and defensive capabilities of its tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey.

There have already been attempts to increase a tilt-rotors situational awareness capabilities, such as the V-280 tilt-rotor having sensors installed that eliminate 100% of blind spots. Now the Corps are looking into a drone that can be launched out the back of a MV-22 Osprey to provide the pilots a heads-up towards any potential threats along the way and at their destination.

The Air-Launched Fast Autonomous Reconnaissance System (AFARS) will be launched out of a flying MV-22 to provide additional situational awareness for the troops onboard the aircraft. The drone has a maximum range of 165 nautical miles and a data link capability of 50 nautical miles, providing pilots critical intel regarding potential ground based threats.

The drone is 6 feet long and can carry a payload of about 4.5 pounds, keeping the possibility open for it to have offensive capabilities.

The Marines have been looking for ways to increase the tilt-rotor’s defensive capabilities with rocket launchers being considered at times. Instead, the Corps opted to upgrade the aircraft’s Defensive Weapon System, an underbelly 7.62 mm minigun. However, fire limitations were discovered in testing back in 2015, when damage was found on the aircraft’s fuselage.

Although the MV-22 has its vulnerabilities, during operations, it is often escorted by the Air Force’s A-10 Warthogs to provide additional support, as mentioned by marinecorpstimes.com.

While the AFARS system is no match compared to an A-10 escorting the tilt-rotor, it can still provide crucial information of threats ahead, in a much more convenient and cost efficient manner.

The drone is expected to be seen above the battlefield by the year 2026.