via Naval News Service.
Marine Corps Aviation hit another significant landmark yesterday with the successful deployment of three MV-22 Ospreys across 1500 nautical miles in just over five hours from Okinawa, Japan to Guam. The aircraft arrived at Andersen Air Force Base at 5:09 p.m.
The aircraft are participating in the Marine Aircraft Group -12 (MAG-12) exercise FORAGER FURY 2012 (FF12).
The MV-22s from Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 265 (VMM-265), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) completed the simulated “assault support” mission with four F/A-18 Hornets and KC-130J from Aerial Refueling Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152), 1st MAW, III MEF.
The MV-22s linked up with a VMGR-152 KC-130J about 850 nautical miles into the flight, southwest of Iwo Jima, to aerial refuel en route to Guam.
The flight from Okinawa enabled 1st MAW to simulate safe flight passage through 500 nm of permissive territory free of enemy threats, and 200 nm of hostile territory with four F/A-18s providing realistic replication of enemy aircraft.
This event reinforces Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) integration and exercises maneuver to an objective from over the horizon. Lessons learned from this exercise will enable the Marine Corps to refine the tactical application of MV-22s in support of current and future contingency operations in the Asia-Pacific area.
Read it all, but I wonder about the application.
