Osprey Problem Probed, Not Fixed

V22 Osprey in helicopter mode

Why do we have so many problems with getting things done? At Responsible Statecraft (as if there is such a thing),  Military officials:​ 'Widowmaker' Osprey will fly with a faulty clutch

During a House subcommittee hearing on June 12, Vice Admiral Carl Chebi told Congress that the V-22 Osprey will continue to fly on a faulty clutch through mid-2025.

But while it will fly at a lower capacity of only 30 minutes at a time, this change would not have prevented a crash that killed three U.S. Marines last year.

In the last two years alone, 20 service members have died in Osprey crashes. Finally, after a total of 64 fatalities and 93 injuries, Congress has launched an investigation into the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey — known as the “widowmaker.” On June 12, the House Oversight National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee called on Chebi, adviser to the secretary of defense Peter Belk, and Program Executive Officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare and Special Missions Programs Gary Kurtz, to address the recent uptick in crashes.

One of the key questions for Congress was on the Osprey’s aging clutch. As defense analyst Julia Gledhill explained in these pages last year, the Osprey’s clutch will occasionally slip and disengage with one of the aircraft’s proprotors and can cause the helicopter to lurch and nosedive, in what is known as a hard clutch event.

V22 Osprey in airplane mode

This is the first I've heard of the clutch problem, but it's obviously been understood for a while now. 

“Over time, the clutch wears out and has a higher susceptibility to slipping which will cause a hard clutch event,” acknowledged Chebi during the hearing. “In 2022 we had a sharp increase in the number of hard clutches.”

Kurtz told the subcommittee on Wednesday that a rework on the clutch would be done “somewhere between mid-period of 2025 and the third quarter of that fiscal year.” The Department of Defense also removed clutches that have over 800 hours but will continue to use the faulty clutch until then, putting more service members at risk.

As Admiral Chebi admitted, they have “not eliminated the risk.”

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) disagreed with the decision to continue to use the faulty clutch: “What do you think the consequences will be if we have another V-22 go down and we lose more brave Marines or Airmen between now and the time at which Mr. Kurtz indicates we would have this clutch situation figured out and deployed?” said Lynch. “Your whole program’s done. It’s done. If another Osprey goes down, we’re done. This program’s done. So why don’t we ground this now?”

Several family members of Osprey crash victims were incensed to learn that the program will continue to use the aging clutch — rather than grounding the fleet until they can replace the faulty part. After the hearing, the family members of victims sitting in the front row spoke with the witnesses. “Why would you fly something that still has a risk?” asked Gwyneth Collart, the sister of Cpl. Spencer Collart — crew chief of the Osprey that crashed in Australia. Chebi, whose own son is flying in an Osprey, didn’t have an answer.

Obviously, any time you fly anything anywhere, some risk attaches, and military craft are designed with a mission in mind, and safety added as best possible. 

But, why not a program to rapidly replace all the aging clutches with new ones, even if the must be the older ones with a limited lifespan, while they gin up production of the news better clutches I presume they're making? Take someone off the DEI program, and put them in charge of getting all the clutches fixed ASAP. Then shitcan him/her/it if it doesn't get done.