Maybe this isn’t the best idea the DOD has ever had:
It crashed four times in development, killing 30 crew and passengers. An unexplained crash during a combat mission in Afghanistan last year claimed four more lives. Despite its lethal reputation, in April the controversial V-22 Osprey tiltrotor got a high-profile new assignment: hauling cargo for the president’s entourage, starting in 2013.
Now that mission has expanded, and the Osprey will haul the entourage itself. A July solicitation by Marine Corps asks for a company to supply VIP kits for four Ospreys. The kits include a liner to disguise the cabin’s pipes and wires, softer seats and a carpet bearing the squadron logo for the aircraft’s ramp.
Some observers see the VIP mods as a baby step towards putting the president himself in the $100-million dollar aircraft, dubbed the “Dream Machine” by one fawning writer. After an expensive false start, the Pentagon wants to buy a new fleet of presidential transports starting in 2017; the V-22 is officially a candidate.
The Wired report goes on to suggest this could be an “economic” move by the Pentagon — they’re short on “reliable large helicopters” and might be seeking a “viable alternative.”
Is putting the president’s staff — or the president himself — on a transport with such a troubled past really a “viable alternative”?
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