MV-22B Osprey Flight Operations Aboard USNS Mercy.
MV-22B Osprey Flight Operations Aboard USNS Mercy.
PACIFIC OCEAN (Apr. 19, 2021) Sailors assigned to the embarked Medical Treatment Facility’s Air Department aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) clear tie-down equipment from an MV-22B Osprey assigned to Air Test and Evaluation (HX) Squadron 21 of Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md., on the ship’s flight deck Apr. 19. The green streaks are from glow lights, which are worn during night flight operations for safety and visibility, and are attached to Sailors’ float coats. Mercy is underway off the coast of Southern California completing Dynamic Interface Testing, where the ship’s aviation facilities will be evaluated for compatibility with the V-22 Osprey and MH-60 Seahawk, and establish launch and recovery windows in adverse weather conditions. Mercy recently returned to its homeport in San Diego from a regular overhaul in Portland, Ore., where improvements were made to its flight deck to support multiple aircraft platforms. Mercy must be in a five-day-activation status in order to support missions over the horizon, and be ready, reliable and resilient to support mission commanders. Original public domain image from Flickr