The Israeli
air force has frozen its evaluation of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with a
senior defence source indicating that the tiltrotor is unable to perform some
missions currently conducted using its Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters.
In January 2014, the US Department of Defense
notified Congress about its intention to sell six V-22s to Israel. This
followed an evaluation conducted by air force personnel, which led to the
service seeking a rapid acquisition to support special operations. The proposed
purchase met with opposition from elsewhere within Israel's defence ministry,
however.
Other potential candidates to replace the Israeli
air force's aged CH-53s by around 2025 include Sikorsky's new CH-53K and the
Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
Some of the service's current CH-53s have amassed
more than 10,000 flying hours, and it expects to continue operating updated
examples until 2028.
(Evangle Luo of TTFLY shared with you)
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