Boeing’s John Parker: USAF, Marine Corps Eye Sonic Waves, Laser Weapons for V-22 Fleet

John Parker, manager of tiltrotor business development at Boeing, has said the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force might consider upgrading their fleet of Bell Boeing-built V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft with new weapons such as lasers and sonic waves, DoD Buzz reported Thursday.

Oriana Pawlyk writes Parker told reporters Tuesday that officials have evaluated AGM-176 Griffin missile, precision-guided rockets and other weapons mounted on V-22’s fuselage “to demonstrate that the V-22 can fire both in the forward fight… and also 60 degrees” as both service branches work to equip the aircraft with new reinforcements.

He said at the company’s media event that the V-22 program is on target to build and deliver 48 CMV-22 planes to the U.S. Navy by early 2020s in an effort to replace the C-2A Greyhound aircraft for use in carrier onboard delivery missions under a potential $151 million contract awarded in 2016.

Boeing plans to build the V-22 fuselage at its factory in Philadelphia, while Textron’s Bell Helicopter subsidiary plans to produce the aircraft’s wings at its plant in Amarillo, Texas, he noted.