| > How long did it take it for the Osprey to make it into service? I was curious so I went and looked; 1981 - Initial development contract awarded 1983 - Bell/Boeing submitted their prototype and since it was the only submission, they were awarded the contract 1985 - Osprey designation established, first full size prototypes under development 1988 - First Osprey was finished 1989 - First testing of the prototypes started and first flight in helicopter mode (several of the prototypes crashed) 1994 - Bell/Boeing received production contract for EMD phase 1997 - First EMD flight + more testing 2005 - Full rate production authorized 2007 - Marines began fielding them They were still testing the various modes (carrier onboard deliveries, etc) into the 2020s but the most favorable case is that it took over 25 years from prototype to service. |