The Army pursues deep air assault operations. Tilt-rotor transports are to enable this charge of the airmobile brigade.
The Army expectations for the V-280 tilt-rotor transport craft include "entirely overhauling the speed, range, and survivability of air assault operations." This worries me:
According to Sylvia, L2A2 [Large-Scale, Long-Range Air Assault] is defined by the ability to “deliver one Brigade Combat Team in one period of darkness, over 500 miles, arriving behind enemy lines, and be able to conduct sustained combat operations.”
While I'm pretty confident parachutists are never going to be significant above small, shallow, tactical drops, I have doubts about this operating concept:
For tactical insertions behind enemy lines, helicopters are probably the way to go--if even that is possible these days given that armored attack helicopters that can shoot back may be too vulnerable for operations forward of our front lines. We'll see how the V-280 tilt-rotor (planned for 2030) works for the Army in deep missions rather than for faster behind-the-lines movements.
Up to 500 miles behind enemy lines? Talk about a bridge too far!
2030 is a long way in the future. Just imagine what networked swarms of small drones will do to a flotilla of V-280s heading over enemy lines in six years. As I imagined:
With a warning from radars, drones defending a fixed asset, or eventually a ground unit in the field, drone swarms would be released that rise up to have the best-positioned drone in the swarm guided into the path of the incoming threat. Perhaps the air defense drone spreads out arms to let the incoming round impact the drone defender and be disabled, destroyed, or detonated. Perhaps the air defense drone fires a Claymore mine-like weapon into the path of the weapon (assuming it can be designed to avoid too much collateral damage on the ground from falling projectiles. Or maybe it would be HEAT-type salvo.
I don't think darkness--and flying higher--will be the shield the Army is counting on. Or will a fleet of escorting drones shoot down enemy fighter drones and suppress ground-based air defenses to keep the air bridge open?
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.NOTE: You may also read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it.
NOTE: I made the image with Bing.
