Pentagon defies Congress over V-22 data

. . . and that does not make for a happy congress

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/05/21/pentagon-stonewalls-on-osprey/
http://springboarder.blogspot.com/2009/05/mv-22-catches-hostile-firefrom-congress.html

It was the shortest hearing I’ve ever attended. The House Government Oversight and Reform Committee was due to hold a hearing about the V-22 this morning, starting at 10 a.m. It started about 10:10 and was all over by 10:15, following a sharply worded condemnation of the Pentagon by the committee’s chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

“We had hoped to conduct today a thorough examination of the Defense Department’s V-22 Osprey, an aircraft with a controversial past, a troubled present, and an uncertain future. However, the Defense Department has evidently decided to stonewall our investigation. On May 5, 2009, I wrote to Secretary of Defense Gates to request information on the Osprey, including copies of two reports on the performance of the Osprey in Iraq, called “Lessons and Observations.” I also requested a list of all V-22 Ospreys acquired by the Defense Department, including their current locations and flight status,” Towns said. “However, to this date, the Defense Department has failed to provide this information, despite repeated reminders from the Committee. This is simply unacceptable.”

there’s also this interesting comment from Josh at dodbuzz:

Anyone know about the Osprey “Hall of Shame” located at the Boeing facility in Pennsylvania were dozens of unrepairable V-22s are stashed. I’ve been told there are several damaged V-22s in a hangar at New River NC that were cannibalized for parts. I’ve been told there are several that were sent back to Amarillo for conversion to “Block Bs”, but their airframes had damage that couldn’t be repaired. Congress has funded 150 V-22s through FY2009, so around 140 have been delivered. The Corps claims only 84 are in service, and won’t account for the rest. Meanwhile, there are none in Iraq or Afghanistan. From what I understand, after two years of service they have so many problems with leaky hydraulic lines and cracks in wings or the floor that they are quietly retired.

This is why the Corps only has four squadrons of 10 aircraft each in fleet service. Next year, the Marines want 30 more V-22s in the FY2010 budget, but will only stand up one more squadron.

of course he hurts his credibility by claiming there are no Ospreys in Iraq when in fact there are (even if they are just delivering laundry)

bottomline: coverups make you ask ‘what are they hiding?’ and the Marines can forget about any more MV-22s until the pentagon comes clean