55 Ospreys Grounded because of a dud Computer Chip

    An "off the shelf" chip used in the V22 Osprey tilt-rotor's complex flight control system has failed a cold-soak test and the cause has been tracked down to a lack of earlier testing. Texas Instruments are reportedly taken aback that their chip failed at just below freezing when the actual specification calls for it to operate the Osprey's flight control system down to as low as 65 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The chip reliably started acting very strangely whenever the test temperature dropped below freezing. The Osprey has been under development as a concept for some 30 years - and over two decades at least in its current form. It never ceases to surprise - both its designers and the crews flying them. The faulty computer chip was found during preflight testing at the Bell-Boeing facility in Amarillo, Texas. The chip was part of a circuit that enables three flight control computers to provide backup control to each other if one malfunctions.
    It's believed that plans are afoot to deploy Ospreys to both Iraq and Afghanistan later this year as a proof of concept exercise. Both USMC and USAF Ospreys are affected by the groundings. Over 400 Ospreys will be produced over the next 5 years.The Marine Corps will increase their number of Ospreys to 360 and phase them into the fleet. Each aircraft costs about $71 million. Ospreys can carry more cargo than the CH-46 and fly five times farther at speeds around 300 mph, according to the military. The aircraft has been in active development since 1986.
    It's not known how many other "commercial off the shelf" (COTS) components are being used in the aircraft. MORE