UAE Pulls Out in Fight Against ISIS
The United Arab Emirates has discontinued its air campaign in the western led coalition in the fight against the Islamic State.
This comes as a suprising move of the Arab allies but is related to the Jordanian pilot being captured by ISIS and then later being burned alive in a cage.(Scroll Down for Video)
Officials from the UAE said they will still provide their air bases to the allied forces and the US for the continued air strike campaign. Some have pointed out that in Dcember, the UAE asked the US about providing more support for rescue missions using their Ospreys aircrafts. The US Ospreys are currently located in Kuwait, UAE says they are not close enough to where the air strikes are being raged.
Osprey V-22
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turbopropaircraft.
The V-22 originated from the United States Department of Defense Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) aircraft program started in 1981. The team of Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team jointly produce the aircraft. The V-22 first flew in 1989, and began flight testing and design alterations; the complexity and difficulties of being the first tiltrotor intended for military service in the world led to many years of development.
The United States Marine Corps began crew training for the Osprey in 2000, and fielded it in 2007; it supplemented and then replaced their Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights. The Osprey’s other operator, the U.S. Air Force, fielded their version of the tiltrotor in 2009. Since entering service with the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, the Osprey has been deployed in both combat and rescue operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Libya.