US Navy’s MV-22B Osprey recently practiced its skills while landing on a Spanish amphibious assault ship, just off the coast of Spain.
Maj. Bret Knickerbocker, who landed the helicopter, said:
The goal of practicing landing the MV-22B Osprey on Juan Carlos I is to maintain our proficiency and familiarize the process while working with the Spanish Navy.
We have to make sure we are familiar with standard patterns, signals and to make sure we learn and understand each other’s procedures.
The deck landing qualifications, or DLQs, are a part of the Allied Maritime Basing Initiative, which seeks to provide the U.S. and allies with a year-round maritime-based crisis response force in the Mediterranean Sea or the Gulf of Guinea by leveraging the significant amphibious capabilities already residing in Europe.
During DLQs with the Spanish Navy, U.S. Marines have subject matter experts working alongside the Spanish in the tower aboard Juan Carlos I. These SMEs coordinate air movements to and from the ship with the Spanish.
This training proved the ability of a tiltrotor aircraft, like the Osprey, to land on a deck of the Spanish aircraft carrier.
Image: USMCFE