The Osprey, Indispensable For Future War Plans (From RealClearDefense)

Before long, the grounded V-22 Osprey fleet may be back in the air. Air Force Special Operations Command touched off the speculation last week, when they announced that ongoing safety reviews have identified the mechanical part failure that caused the November 29 crash of a CV-22 in route to Okinawa, Japan. Lieutenant General Tony Bauernfeind, Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command also said “there is a strong desire to return to fly because this is a capability we want to have.”

You know the story so far. The Air Force stood down all its CV-22s in December, and the Marine Corps, Navy and Japan Self Defense Force also issued grounding bulletins. In the case of the CV-22, the Air Force determined quickly that the cause was mechanical, and not pilot error. The Air Force and contractor team set to work immediately to evaluate options. In early January, divers recovered the black box of the CV-22 from the seas off Japan.

I have written more on this subject here.