The team of
Boeing-Bell said Monday it had delivered the Air Force’s first production CV-22 Osprey. Air Force Special Operations Command will use the CV-22 for long-range special operations, contingency operations, and evacuations, as well as search and rescue operations. The current program calls for AFSOC to field 50 CV-22s. The Osprey will finish developmental testing and follow-on testing at Edwards AFB, Calif. AFSOC expects to achieve initial operational capability in 2009.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.