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According to Colonel Glenn Walters who has flown hundreds of hours in the MV-22 Osprey when he commanded the Marine Tiltrotor Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22), it is a fine aircraft.

To critics who claim that the Osprey has not flown enough in the desert, Walters said it simply is not true. As Walters sees it, not only can the Ospreys fly in the desert, the aircraft's advanced technology makes it easier than in any other rotorcraft to land in brownout conditions.

Other critics point out that the MV-22 does not have a forward-firing weapon, but said Walters, none puts this in context. For no medium or heavy lift aircraft in the U.S. inventory has a forward-firing weapon. MV-22s flying in Iraq have ramp-mounted machine guns that have become the standard on aircraft in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. That, and the inherent capabilities of the aircraft — range, speed and altitude — give the MV-22 the ability to reduce susceptibility and vulnerability to many threats.

The MV-22 has limited visibility through the cabin windows, much like the CH-46 and the CH-53E, but what most critics may not know is that the troop commander, who rides in the back of the Osprey, has unparalleled situational awareness from the on-board precision navigation system with moving maps and a significant communications capability. These capabilities are not an option in existing Marine Corps aircraft.

Walters said that the MV-22 is the most maneuverable medium-lift assault support platform in the world. Conventional helicopters are limited to standard rotary wing tactics and airspeeds, while the MV-22 has the ability to fly like a turboprop airplane as well as a conventional helicopter. As an airplane, it can climb or descend at a significantly higher rate than any helicopter and can transit at much higher speeds. The MV-22 can also get in and out of landing zones faster than any other medium lift helicopter.

Vortex ring state (VRS) is a phenomenon experienced by all rotorcraft — not just the Osprey. While the MV-22 is the only aircraft with a warning system that alerts pilots to VRS conditions, it is the least susceptible to this phenomenon. Also, because of the inherent flight characteristics of a tilt-rotor, and with the execution of a routine procedure, the MV-22 can fly out of VRS almost instantaneously by simply tilting the nacelles forward and flying out of the condition.