Boeing CV-22B Osprey (08-0051) from the United States Air Force (USAF) at the RIAT 2019, RAF Fairford (United Kingdom)
The tilt-rotor Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey combines the versatility of a helicopter with the performance of a fixed-wing turboprop aircraft. Having made a vertical or short take-off, the wingtip-mounted nacelles containing the two Rolls-Royce Allison AE1107C turboshaft engines tilt forwards to allow the transition into conventional flight. The maiden flight of the V-22 prototype took place in March 1989. It is now in service in MV-22B form with the US Marine Corps as a cargo and troop transport, and in US Air Force Special Operations Command as the CV-22B for long-range infiltration, exfiltration and re-supply tasks. Three wings fly the CV-22B, the 7th Special Operations Squadron of the 352nd Special Operations Wing at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, having received its initial examples - the first to be stationed outside the USA - in June 2013. A total of 49 CV-22Bs are on order for the United States Air Force. Both the flying and static examples at RIAT 2019 will come from 7 SOS at Mildenhall.
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually over the third weekend in July,
usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.
The show typically attracts a total of 150.000 to 160.000 spectators over the weekend.