The V-22 Osprey, as a mature tiltrotor aircraft, has already entered the ranks of star military equipment, and its equipment quantity and scale are constantly expanding, with broad development prospects. However, as the design companies of this aircraft, Boeing and Bell had another even crazier plan, in which they collaborated to design a larger quadcopter transport plane, the V-44.

The development of the V-44 began in 1998, but its technology can be traced back to Bell's exploration of the D-332 quadcopter in 1979. Although the V-22 had not yet entered service at that time, the US military had already realized the value of this new aircraft in the future, so they were very optimistic about the V-44.

Many research results of V-22 were directly adopted, and it is said that the commonality of their components is about 50%. However, V-44 still has significant differences in structure. Its main body structure is similar to that of ordinary large transport aircraft, using a three-point landing gear. The main landing gear is located on both sides of the body, and a door for loading and unloading large cargo is installed at the tail. There is a through cargo space inside the body, which can accommodate up to 90 soldiers, or equipment such as AH-64, UH-60, Stryker armored vehicles, with a payload of about 18 tons and a maximum payload of about 11 tons in hovering state.

The power system of the aircraft is the same as that of the V-22, but it uses 2 wings and 4 rotors. The front wing is slightly smaller in size and connected to the upper part of the front fuselage, while the rear wing is larger and located above the rear fuselage, which can avoid occupying the space inside the fuselage and expand cargo space.

The aircraft does not have the vertical tail and other components required for conventional fixed wing aircraft. Corresponding flaps and other equipment are installed on both wings, and the wings cannot be folded like the V-22. For such a large aircraft, structural strength and wingtip should be consideredThe engine compartment, like the power components of the V-22, can tilt forward to increase thrust during level flight, which is beneficial for high-speed flight.

The aircraft is expected to achieve a cruising speed of about 460 kilometers per hour and a maximum speed of about 520 kilometers per hour. The aircraft's range under maximum load is between 500 and 1000 miles, and its maximum range will be greater than 1000 miles. Although the aircraft is large in size, with a length of up to 30 meters, it can still take off and land in suitable open spaces like a regular helicopter, with transport capacity similar to the C-130.

However, at that time, even the simpler V-22 had not yet been finalized for service and was still being continuously improved. The more complex V-44 structure was even more difficult. In 2000, the company conducted some tests on scaled down models and later proposed another slightly smaller design to further enhance the compatibility with V-22 components, but the transportation capacity also decreased accordingly.

It was expected that the V-44 would be designed around 2010 and would replace transport planes or helicopters such as the C-130 and CH-53. At present, aircraft such as the V-44 have development value, but there is still a long way to go before the technology matures. It is not simply about enlarging the V-22 and adding engines, but also considering many factors such as the strength of the aircraft structure and aerodynamic layout. The United States is still actively developing relevant technologies, such as the Bell V-280 and other aircraft models, which shows that the United States attaches great importance to this type of aircraft. The V-44 may be realized one day in the future.

Source: Military of Strong Countries