The Ch-46 Sea Knight (aka phrogs, or 46s) aircraft is a perfect example. It has been around since the Vietnam War and even though it has received several upgrades over the years, the airframe is still more than 40 years old. Aircraft this old require a great deal of upkeep and maintenance, which means more tax payer money. The Marine Corps realized that they were spending more money on maintaining the 46s than they would spending on replacing them. Even though it did very well in amphibious operations the 46 was having problems climbing over the mountainous landscapes found in
various regions in Afghanistan.The Marine Corps began looking at different options for replacement and found the 46's successor in the MV-22 Osprey. Development of the Osprey program originally started back in the 1980s but was not put into full production until the early 21st century. The Osprey is a combination of VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and STOL (short takeoff and landing) aircraft. It provides the functionality of a helicopter with the speed of a turboprop plane (wikipedia.org). The main advantage is that the Osprey can climb over the mountains in Afghanistan with relative ease. It can also, after modifications to the flight deck, take off and la
nd on the amphibious warships just like the 46 did.During its development, the Osprey had to overcome various challenges that are associated with trying to rotate an engine on a fixed wing. Things such as pinched fuel lines which cause engine failures. There were a great deal of crashes during testing and the future of the Osprey seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer. Fortunately though, a brave Marine Col. Glenn Waters and his wife volunteered to personally test what seemed to be flying death traps. Due to their efforts, the Osprey did it's job in Iraq and now in Afghanistan.
For more info check out wikipedia.org or search marines.mil
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