DIVERS, HISTORIANS AND SCUBA ENTHUSIASTS often train for years to explore undersea wreckage, but this dive site can be found in just over six feet of water.
Located about half a mile away from Staniel Cay Yacht Club, the wreckage of this plane crash might be the most accessible artificial dives in the world. In about six feet of warm Bahamian water, the remains of this plane wreck don’t let the shallow conditions stop them from becoming a sanctuary for many fish and coral species, as crash sites often do.
In addition to vegetation and the usual wandering schools of tropical fish usually found near undersea structures, this wreckage is known for the nurse sharks who like sleep under its wings.
I’ve seen some good units for a small fraction of that. Heck, you can pickup a used gyro copter for 3K. I’m still extremely tempted to get one, I could even make it pay for itself doing game surveys and predator/varmint control.
Great find which brings me to the most successful military tilt rotor ever developed, The V-22 Osprey.
If not for our near unlimited military developmental budget it would have no doubt suffered the same fate as the German Attempts at VTOL tech.
The V-22 however is going to be phased out according to the newest plans from the Maine Corps. Still it was highly successful for the life it has functioned in.
Just like the A-10 which is serving decades beyond when it was supposed to have been phased out at the end of The Cold War.
I don’t see it happening unless and until something with equal or better capabilities comes along to replace it.
I guarantee you the troops who rely on them will fight like hell to keep them well into the future because nothing we have can do what they can.
The A-10 serves an entire different role than the Ospreys. According to the Marines new strategy to modernise their fighting capabilities the Osprey is a sitting duck for more advanced weapons that will be used by the likes of China. So they will be phased out before or by 2035.
I don’t see it happening.
It’s the Osprey or Helo’s which are a much fatter, easier, and more vulnerable target.
Like the A-10 there’s just nothing we have that can fill the same role.
I am just repeating what they reported themselves. If they are serious about bringing our military to meet new challenges by modernizing it for efficiency then its going to happen. The Osprey, as wonderful as a machine it is, its still a slow moving target that can easily be taken out with a rocket missile.