Israeli Air Force pilots recently performed test flights with Bell-Boeing's V-22 Osprey, and are weighing a possible purchase of the unique half-plane half-helicopter. The V-22 Osprey, introduced to the United States military in 2007, is a unique hybrid aircraft. Its twin wing-mounted rotors can rotate, using what is known as tilt-rotor technology; when the propellers face upwards, the aircraft can perform vertical takeoffs and landings as a helicopter would. The advantages of such a system are numerous; the airplane can bring supplies and or troops to an area without a prepared landing strip and do so in a short time - a capability that is vital to search-and-rescue missions. The IAF had tested this plane in 2009, but opted to wait on the decision to purchase it.
After takeoff the propellers rotate 90 degrees and provide the aircraft with the speed and range of a turbine engine-propeller airplane.
The plane is also less vulnerable to small-arms fire while in flight; a threat that is ever-present for slower-moving helicopters in war time. The V-22 is currently in use by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps for both combat and rescue operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
