All language subtitles for Beyond The Battlefield - EP-01 - Need For Speed

[dramatic music]

[cell phone ringing]

- Hey, remi, peyton here.
- Hey, peyton.

I'm headed
to air station miramar now

To learn about naval
and marine aviation.

- How you feeling?
- I'm feeling great.

I'm as ready as
I could ever be.

- I like it.

I just want to say how honored

That the history channel
and I are

That you're leading
this mission.

You know, in football,

We relied on preparation,
communication.

I got to tell you, remi,
it pales in comparison

To what our country's service
members do on a daily basis.

- Yeah.

- Putting their lives
on the line

To protect all of us at home.

So thank you for your
service as a navy seal

And for telling the stories
of others who served.

- Well, I'm honored to help
share their stories.

But, peyton, I heard
through the grapevine

That you did some work with
navy seals back in the day.

How true is that?
- Wow.

I, um...

♪

"work" might be putting it
a little bit too strongly.

Let's just say I'm happier
that you're there and I'm here.

- Well, I got you, peyton.

And I'm looking forward
to getting on base

And learning
what these folks do.

♪

The united states
military is legendary--

A powerful presence
throughout the world.

But what do
civilians truly know

About the people,
places, and history

Behind this institution?

All right, let's rock it.

My name is remi adeleke.

As a navy veteran, I've had
the honor to serve my country

In ways I never expected.

[person shouts indistinctly]

Now I want to take you
on a journey across america

To discover what lies
beyond the battlefield.

♪

For those who take
to the skies

For the navy
and marine corps...

Life is a thrill ride
in the fast lane.

These elite pilots,
the best of the best...

♪

Go through
the most intense training

The military has to offer...

♪

And fly missions
across the globe.

♪

Marine corps air station
miramar in san diego

Is home to many
marine aviators.

It was originally
a navy base

And first site
of the famous top gun program.

♪

Before transferring
to the marines in 1997...

♪

I touched down in miramar
to see what it takes

To earn those wings

And find out if I had
the need for speed.

♪

- How's it going, sir?
Remi.

- Hey, so nice to meet you.

- Colonel marty bedell.
Nice to meet you.

All right,
well, you are aboard

Marine corps
air station miramar.

- Yes, sir.

- And you are
in base operations.

So this is the center
of the airfield.

♪

So this room here
is the flight-planning room

For pilots who are coming
through,

So basically to prepare
for whatever flight or mission

That you're going to be doing.

♪

We've got 12,000
marines and sailors

Who call this home base.

- Yeah, as you know,
I was a sailor.

- I do.
- You were a marine.

If you could tell me,
what is the big difference

Between marine aviation
and naval aviation?

- So marine aviation
is part of naval aviation.

We work very,
very closely together.

♪

- When it comes to naval
and marine aviation,

There's one important
difference in the doctrine.

Marine aviation is designed

In total support
of marine ground operations

Being conducted
by land-based marine troops.

U.S. Navy aviation is in
support of fleet operations,

So it defends the ships

And goes on the attack
against other ships as needed.

♪

Naval aviation got
its start in 1910--

Seven years after the wright
brothers flew off kitty hawk.

With the advent
of manned flight,

The military people
recognized

That this was a whole new
venue of waging war.

- Airplanes could
help the navy,

First by scouting
over the horizon.

And that would give your
fleet considerable advantage.

Then there was the question
of whether you could lift

A bomb or a torpedo

And perhaps deliver it
far beyond the horizon also.

One of the american aviation
manufacturers and enthusiasts

Is glenn curtiss.

Glenn curtiss had the idea
that you could have airplanes

Take off from the water.

- Glenn curtiss gave the world
its first hydroplane.

- The whole concept
of naval aviation

Presented a lot
of technological problems,

The biggest, of course,
being can an aircraft

Take off and land from a ship?

This is no small thing,
especially at that time.

The aircraft were so fragile
and primitive,

The real question was,

Are they powerful
enough to take off?

And then are they
sturdy enough to land?

This is when eugene ely,

A test pilot
for glenn curtiss,

Took off from hampton roads.

Then a year later,
he successfully landed

On a makeshift flight deck.

♪

- Now, the next question is,

Are you going to build
a ship that's dedicated

For such operations?

That the u.S. Navy wasn't
all too thrilled about.

♪

Then world war I happens.

[bugle fanfare plays]

[dramatic music]

- Airplanes,
until world war I,

Had very limited capability.

The war really
moves things along.

♪

So, by 1916, for example,

The british have airplanes
with their fleet.

And after the war,
american officers,

Who've been
watching the british, say,

If you don't buy
a real aircraft carrier

And a lot of airplanes,
you will lose the next war.

♪

By 1939, we're regarded

As the leading
naval air power.

We have the basis
of the dramatic expansion

Of naval aviation
during world war ii.

♪

- The navy began
its aviation program

A few years
before the marine corps

Had even conceived of the idea.

♪

The beginning
of marine aviation

Starts with
alfred austell cunningham

In 1912.

Alfred a. Cunningham
absolutely was a visionary.

♪

There was no marine aviation
at that time.

He just knew he wanted to fly.

He understood
how to work the system,

And cunningham
would get himself

In the middle of the politicos

To be able to talk
about a marine flying.

What would that look like?

It was envisioned
to always support

The riflemen
on the ground from day one.

♪

They started marine aviation

With none
of their own equipment.

They were using
the navy's equipment.

They were training
with the army.

And as they struggled,
they also understood

The core of who they were.

The first marine aviators
deployed into combat

When they went into the azores
in world war I.

They were looking and spotting
for german u-boats.

♪

During the interwar years

Is where we really see that
marines want to keep flying.

♪

Marines were at air shows.

Even though it
was not a mission,

They become one
of the best drill teams

And racing teams in the world.

That's what helps gear them up
to get ready for world war ii.

♪

The role of marine aviators

Was to do the island-hopping
campaign in the pacific.

They did transport,
photography,

Logistics, close air support.

They did it all.

- When the japanese pilots
spotted their targets,

U.S. Gunners
were waiting for them.

♪

- By the end of world war ii,

We see that marine aviators
are actually fulfilling

What cunningham had envisioned.

They're actually supporting

Army and marines
on the ground.

So they have fulfilled
not only their mission,

But they've realized it.

They know by the end
of world war ii,

It's a proof of concept.

♪

[engines roaring]

- Remi, I want to show you
the best view on base.

♪

So what you're seeing right
here is the full airfield.

♪

We got a two-mile-long runway.

♪

Over here, you've got all
of the fixed-wing aircraft--

The jets...

And the c-130s
down on the flight line.

♪

F-35, f-18...

♪

A couple of f-16s
that are visiting.

And then down on this end
of the flight line,

We've got the helicopters--

The ch-53 heavy lift,

And we've got
the mv-22 ospreys.

So, over 200 aircraft.

♪

[engine roaring]

So, all of these aircraft, all
of the pilots and the aircrew

That operate them, are
training for deployments.

They are getting ready
to go out on deployment,

And they're coming back home
from deployment.

At any given moment,
about 20% of the air wing

Is forward deployed,
either on navy ships

Or over to bases in japan

Or doing training exercises
across the pacific--

The philippines,
thailand, out of guam,

Operating
out of korea and japan.

So the point of this base

And every single flight
you see flying here

Is preparing
for combat operations.

- Train how you fight,
fight how you train, right?

- That's exactly right.

♪

- The first thing you notice
when you get to mcas miramar

Is the sound of fighter jets
flying overhead.

♪

Many people first heard
about fighter jets

From a certain
hollywood blockbuster.

I've always been curious

About these
incredible machines.

- Lieutenant colonel fisher.
- Nice to meet you, sir.

- Welcome to marine corps
air station miramar.

- Colonel fisher's long career
of flying fighter jets

Makes him the perfect guy

To show me
around these famous flyers.

- This is hangar 3,
home to fighter town.

So vmfat-101
is the training squadron.

♪

- Now, the f-18 fighter
jet is associated

With the top gun school?
- Mm-hmm.

- How true is that?
Is that the case?

- It is true.

This has been a part of
top gun for almost 30 years.

- Wow.

- So the whole reason
we want to do this

Is, one, make guys as good
as they can be.

And then, also, they become
the best instructors

That the navy and
the marine corps has to offer,

So now they can come back to
the squadron and the host unit

And then train those people
to be as good as they are.

For marines,
we've been involved

Side by side with the
navy this whole time,

Training and
fighting with them.

- I was born
in gronau, germany,

In 1942.

♪

In '45,
we were forced to leave

For east germany.

My mother said,
enough's enough.

We're going to the west.

Went to university.

One of the alumni
in the fraternity told me,

Look what the communists
have done to you.

Go get even.

There's a war going on.
Join the marine corps.

♪

Went through flight school.
Went to vietnam.

Got orders back
to the united states.

And I got to go
to the west coast.

So that was my dream.

♪

I was teaching
younger students

How to fly the f-4.

♪

After about eight months,

I was selected to go
to top gun

At miramar san diego.

♪

Top gun was

Sort of a provisional
fighter-weapons school,

And I was one of the first
guys that was sent down there

To go through the course.

During that phase
in the early '70s,

The focus was still
on the vietnam war.

♪

- To understand top gun,

You have to understand

Where naval aviation was
before vietnam.

♪

In world war ii, you're
talking about large numbers

Of attack aircraft
that would be escorted

By u.S. Navy fighters.

♪

And, of course, they had to
worry about dogfighting.

♪

You were shooting down
enemy aircraft within sight.

♪

After the war, the main
job of the navy carriers

Was to launch heavy
nuclear strikes

Against the soviet union.

Instead of their having
to come right to you

To drop their
bombs or torpedoes,

They do it from a distance.

You have to find
them pretty far out.

You have to destroy
them pretty far out.

That's why you don't
see a lot of thought

About dogfighting
after world war ii.

♪

Vietnam was a completely
different war.

It was a war of conventional
bombs in quantity.

♪

That meant you had to shoot
down their fighter jets.

That wasn't what our fighters
had been designed for.

♪

Fighters for the navy
were large, heavy,

And armed
with a lot of missiles.

So the question was, well,
how do you change the odds?

And the navy created a school
which was called top gun.

- Top gun, perhaps the
ultimate training experience

For naval fighter crews.

Men from squadrons
throughout the fleet

Who have earned this chance
to perfect their skills

In air-combat maneuvering.

- Top gun was strictly
a training course

To teach pilots
refined fighter tactics.

It was about 50/50
academics, lectures,

And then you flew
at least once a day

To practice what you learned.

♪

You would fly x number
of one-versus-one tactics.

♪

If you were fighting a mig-21,

Your tactics are going to be
different than a mig-17,

'cause the performance of
the airplane you're fighting

Is different.

Then after
the one-v-one phase,

You would then learn
how to take on two guys.

- I got him, I got him,
I got him.

- 3 1/2 minutes.

- [speaks indistinctly
over radio]

- And then the last phase was
multi-aircraft tactics,

Which, again, changes,

Because you got to decide

Who are the good guys,
who are the bad guys.

- Three o'clock now.
- I've got him, I've got him.

- No time.

♪

- At the end of the war,

Navy fighters
were doing extremely well

Against the north vietnamese.

We were able to beat up
smaller, more agile

Enemy aircraft
on a favorable rate.

[gunfire]

- The navy ended up
with a 12-to-1 kill ratio

Compared to about
a meager 2-to-1 kill ratio

Prior to the top gun training.

♪

Top gun was a little bit
of a fraternity.

They had their secret meeting

To vote on which one of
the students coming through

Would be a good
potential instructor.

- Okay, gents, basically,

The bogies were in a very,
very tight fighting wing.

- Another fellow marine,
larry richard, and I

Were assigned as the first
two marine instructors.

♪

I got up early,
checked in at 8:00.

He checked in at 8:30.

So I can claim I was the first
marine instructor at top gun.

♪

[engine roars]

- I want to show you some
things about the f-18 hornet.

Okay, I want to show you
some unique capabilities.

Up front here,
under the nose behind this,

That's where our radar is at.

This system is designed

To detect air-to-air
and air-to-surface targets

At advanced ranges.

You're talking lots
of miles far out.

So, within the nose,
above it, if you see up here,

We got these holes
and these vents up here.

That's where

Our m61 vulcan 20-millimeter
six-barrel gatling gun's at.

It can shoot
anywhere from 4,000

To 6,000 rounds per minute.

- Wow.
- Yeah, so really fast.

[gunfire]

It's very versatile.

It was the first aircraft
in the dod inventory

That was said right away that
that can be fighter

And attack roles
all in one mission.

- Wow.

- Probably one of
the most important things is,

On the side here,
we always put our names.

So you'll have
the pilot name's up there.

And then a lot of times, we'll
put our call signs underneath.

It's part of our legacy

And something we've done
historically forever, so...

- What's your call sign, sir?
- Yeah, my call sign is goonch.

So it's a man-eating catfish
from the himalayas.

- How'd you come
up with that one?

- I guess
it's my aggressive nature.

- [laughs] I like it.
- Yeah.

So these are called lexes.

These are leading-edge
extensions to the wing.

These provide enhanced
maneuverability

And ability to dogfight.

So this jet is
really, really good

At getting its nose around
and pointing at the enemy.

- What is it like
flying this thing?

- It's amazing.

Just the speed...

♪

Maneuverability,
and then all the sensors--

It's the greatest job
in the world.

- I bet you get a lot
of speeding tickets

When you're down on the ground.
- I know, right?

Yeah, absolutely.
- [laughs]

- You know, one thing
that we really looked at

Was, like, ergonomics
and the ability for a pilot

To sit comfortably in here

And find the systems
he needs rapidly.

So, if you look on the stick
and on the throttle,

There's lots
of switches and buttons.

So, as I'm fighting
and as I'm doing stuff

And I'm looking outside, I can
manipulate sensors, weapons,

And also my throttle
and my energy

So I don't have to pull
my hands off,

So I can continue fighting

While I'm adjusting
my sensors and my system.

♪

- Maybe I can get up
in this thing one day.

- Oh, yeah, I'll get you
in the back seat.

- Yes, sir.

♪

- When the marines took over
miramar from the navy in 1997,

It became home base for
the 3rd marine aircraft wing,

Or maw for short,

♪

Which sits ready to deploy
any moment around the world.

♪

And who better to ask
about the 3rd maw...

Than its assistant wing
commander?

- Remi, I'm gonna go
change over.

- All right.
- And then I'll see you

Up in the team room, all right?
- All right. Yes, sir.

- You got it.

♪

What's your call sign?

- Bams, b-a-m-s.

- How did you
come up with that?

- It's short for bam bam.
- Bam bam?

- Yes, and so,
when I was a young pilot,

I tend to pull a little bit
harder on the stick

Than I should have.

And after about three
or four times of that,

I walked back into
the ready room,

And they had drawn a little
figure of--

Remember bam bam
from "the flintstones"?

- Flintstones, yeah, yeah.

- Instead of holding a club,
it was me smashing a hornet.

And so I've gotten much better,
though, remi, over the years.

- [laughs]

- I'll tell you--
what really is different

About the marine corps than any
other service

Is that when we say
every marine is a rifleman,

Every young marine

Goes through
marine combat training.

And every officer goes
through the basic school.

- Yeah.
- That is to see--

Do you have what it takes
to even be a marine.

- And that pipeline
essentially ends here.

So, once the pilot
has finished,

They arrive here at miramar.

- That's right. So this is
3rd marine aircraft wing.

Within the wing,
we then have groups.

Those groups

Are pretty much specific
to an airplane,

For the most part.

So they have f-35s,
or they have f-18s,

And then nested underneath
the groups are squadrons.

And that's kind of
how we tier it out.

Believe it or not,
we have 40 squadrons.

We have 14,000 marines
and sailors

Working in our particular wing
and over 400 combat aircraft.

- Wow.

- So it is the largest wing
in the marine corps.

The marine corps brings air,

Ground combat arms,
and logistics together,

And that's how we fight.

♪

- What is your mission set
or your mission focus?

- So we're looking
at the whole world,

And we're capable
of deploying anywhere, anytime.

What makes
this marine air wing special

Is the fact
that we're expeditionary.

That means that we show up,
and we can, number one, seize

An airfield with our infantry.

We can set that airfield up
to be able to patch it,

Fix it, put radars into it.

And then we're able to fly
out of that airfield.

- Got it.

- And, really, desert storm--

We saw we were able to pick

Our air-combat element up
and forward-deploy it rapidly

Into a position
to be able to support

Our allies and partners.

♪

- It is not the united states
against iraq.

It is iraq against the world.

♪

- Operation desert storm
was a response

To saddam hussein's invasion
of kuwait in 1990.

♪

- Rising from the barracks

Where the royal guard
still hold out,

The view over kuwait city

Just before 10:00
on the 2nd of August.

♪

- The iraqi reason
for invading kuwait is,

They claimed that
they were drilling wells

Right on the border with iraq

And then they were actually
drilling oil underneath iraq.

- Good evening.

The middle east will never be
the same again.

- The coalition was
about 39 countries,

Led by the united states.

And the united states
marine corps,

Notably its marine corps
aviation capability,

Played a very large role.

♪

- The 3rd marine aircraft wing
going into desert storm--

The idea was that
they would be able to have

Air superiority
and ground superiority.

♪

- So we got there
in October of 1990

And basically trained
for about three, four months.

I was the commander
of marine aircraft group 11.

♪

I was also designated
as the c.O. Of mag-70.

When the
3rd marine aircraft wing

And general moore moved out,

Then, of course,
we worked for him.

So the focus was not so much
on integrated operations

But more air to air,
air to ground.

♪

We practiced
coordinated strikes.

We would be hitting
heavily defended targets.

♪

But then, of course,
once saddam hussein

Started moving again,
on February 1991...

♪

Then it became the real thing.

♪

- There were
about 400 aircraft

That were involved with
the 3rd marine air wing iv

For desert storm.

And they performed
a number of missions.

♪

A huge part of their
mission set was attack.

♪

- We started bombing iraq.

♪

I remember the first strike,

We took down some air-defense
facilities outside baghdad.

That's the first time
we went into iraq itself.

♪

- They attacked
saddam's military,

Destroyed artillery.

They destroyed tanks.
They destroyed vehicles.

But their primary role
in the gulf war

Was to support the marines
on the ground.

- Ready? Pull!

- The grunts
were getting shot at.

Go take out the mortars,

Take out the guns
that are shooting at them.

Take care of our boys
on the ground.

♪

- The 3rd marine
aircraft wing,

They had built up.

They deployed, and they
were ready for the fight.

♪

- The 1991 gulf war
ended in swift success.

It was a--

Decimated saddam's military.

♪

- For the part that we played,
the actual invasion of kuwait,

You know, this was the first
major combat deployment

In 19 years,

And I thought we did
a pretty darn good job.

♪

- At miramar, the air wing is
ready to take on any mission.

♪

I've gotten to see f-18s
and v-22s

And other aircraft up close.

♪

Now it's time to get a taste

Of a day
in the life of a pilot.

And who better to join me
than san diego native

And son
of a world war ii pilot

Who's known
to get air himself?

- Hey, mr. Hawk.
- How are you?

- Pro skater tony hawk.

- I'm sure you got a lot of
cool memories here on miramar,

Where you used to skate
and shop

And do some other cool stuff.

- I didn't skate on the base.

Yeah, that's a surefire way
to get in trouble.

♪

My dad was in the navy.

He flew in world war ii
off the coast of okinawa

On an aircraft carrier.

- And how long did he serve
for in total, would you say?

- I think he served
for about five years.

This was the last place
my dad was stationed,

And then he retired here,

And I grew up here,
and I have never left.

- What about your connection
to the military

Would you find important?

- I think it taught my dad
such a great sense of values.

And he was very supportive
of his children.

I have three older siblings.
- Yeah.

- He taught us the value of
persistence,

Perseverance,
determination,

All of it, I think,

Because of what he learned
in the military.

And we're super thankful
for his guidance.

[engine roars]

- So I think the squadron
is going to show us the ropes

On how to get suited up

And give us some intel
on these jets.

- Do we get the keys?
- We might.

We might be able to do that.
[laughs]

♪

- Hey, guys,
- hey.

- Tony, how you doing?
- How are you?

- Branson reid.
- Oh, good to see you.

- Nice to meet you.

You guys aren't
dressed to go fly,

So we're going to have to
show you how to do that.

- What do you mean?
This is my usual flying attire.

- Not in our fighter aircraft.

So we're going to
put on the gear

And show you what it feels like

To be a real fighter aviator
for the marine corps.

- All right.
Well, come on in.

♪

- I think you can just throw
that one on over your clothes

Right there.
- All right.

- Yeah, I've skydived
in these a few times.

♪

- My wedding attire.

- [laughs]

- So we got to make you
a sharpshooter first.

Welcome to the squadron.
- Oh. Thank you.

♪

- Welcome
to the squadron, remi.

- Ah, thank you.
Appreciate it.

- I know you're not going to
be able to actually go flying,

But I want you to get the full
effect of what it feels like

To wear all this gear
inside the cockpit.

So the first thing you
got here is your g-suit.

What this does is it
plugs into the jet.

And as you start pulling gs,
this thing inflates

And keeps the pressure
and your blood flow

Up near your upper body
and your head

So you don't pass out
while you're flying.

So this will wrap around
your back right here.

- Okay.

- And then you'll snap
this side over here.

♪

Now straighten this out, and
it's kind of like stirrups.

It'll wrap around
your entire leg.

♪

Looks like remi's winning
the flight-gear race right now.

- Am I doing it wrong?
[chuckles]

- Can I just put
my skate pads on?

That'd be a lot easier for me.

[laughter]
- yeah.

♪

- So, after that's going to be
your parachute harness.

- All right.
- So you're going to kind of

Lay it down on the ground,
and you want to step through,

Get your feet through
the bottom portion down here.

♪

This is captain mullins.
- Oh, nice.

- He's a student with us.

He's doing one
of his final flights today.

It's one of the big events.

So he's going out
as number two plane

In a four-ship flight to train
to fight enemy aircraft, so...

- I'm going to be
the enemy aircraft.

- Oh.
- So I told him I'm coming.

- All right.

- So he told me
it's not a problem.

He's going
to take me out, so...

- Good old-fashioned
dogfight, huh?

- That's right.
- Simulated, though, right?

[chuckles]

- All right, one last piece
of gear here.

You got your parachute harness.
You got your g-suit on.

And then now you've got to put
on your survival vest.

- All right, let's do it.

♪

- So this thing will--
- this was not in the brochure.

[laughter]

- So what you have on here
is your survival radio.

You have your life preserver
that will automatically inflate

If you go through an ejection
and hit the water.

And then you have
your oxygen mask

And then a couple
of other survival-type items.

So what you want to do is just
zip this guy all the way up.

- I don't believe
you guys wear all this.

You're doing that
to make us look silly.

♪

- All right, well,
let's walk to the jet.

What do you think?
- All right, I'm down.

♪

- This way, guys.

♪

Pilots walk on a very
specific timeline.

We're exact tot with every
single thing that we do.

They'll greet their plane
captain at their jet,

And then they will do
what's called

A preflight walk-around.

So it's basically a last-look
inspection of the aircraft

That they signed for and took
ownership of

Before they go fly today,

To ensure
that everything looks good

And it's safe
and ready to go flying.

♪

- So what is
the training cycle like?

- Everything goes
from a classroom environment--

Teaching--

Then a simulator,
and then do it in the jet.

These young pilots,

Like captain mullins
that you met

Inside the flight-equipment
area getting dressed,

He's about to be a brand-new
guy out in the fleet,

And he's just going to
get thrown into the fire,

And he's going to go defend
our country in the skies

All over the world,
so it's pretty incredible.

[engine roaring]

♪

- I'll tell you what--the best
sound that I would ever hear

Was when I was on an op
on the ground,

Maybe in a bad situation...

- And you hear that
overhead, right?

[engine roaring]

- General, thank you.
- Yes, sir.

It's great to meet you.
- Same, same.

- Yeah, same goes.
- It's probably redundant,

But I'm going to say it
anyway--safe flight.

- [laughs]
- let's do it.

- All right, see you all.
- Bye, sir.

- I know it's probably getting
a little hot

In that flight gear.

If you want, we can go get you
out of it.

- It's already not easy.
- Yeah, that's true.

I feel like a scarecrow.

- We haven't even
done anything.

- [laughing] I know.
- All right, thanks, guys.

♪

- I just want to show
you this--

My dad's helmet
from world war ii, 1945.

Flew off aircraft carrier
in an avenger.

Fits me, sure.

This is probably
less soundproof

Than the one I wore today.

♪

- I'm just lucky
that I had a dad like mine

To have it lead me here.

All right, see ya.

It's been an honor.

[engine roars]

- Fighter jets

Might be the most famous
planes here at miramar,

But there are several
other aircraft

With their own storied pasts
that call this base home.

One of them
is the first of its kind--

The mv-22 tilt-rotor osprey.

♪

- The mv-22 is the world's
first tilt-rotor aircraft.

A tilt-rotor aircraft is
a hybrid of a helicopter

And an airplane.

It can take off
and land virtually anywhere,

Like a helicopter, and
it can fly like an airplane

And go far and fast
and carry a lot.

♪

- The osprey helps support
marine aviation

In many avenues,

From troop movement

To employment,
to insertion, extraction.

It is a multi-mission airframe.

♪

- The technology
for the osprey,

To transition from
a helicopter into an airplane,

It's tremendously complicated.

♪

A nacelle is what
houses the engine.

And at the top is the
three-blade prop rotor.

♪

The osprey
will take off vertically,

Then rotate the nacelles
into aircraft mode.

And it will fly
like an airplane.

♪

And then it will come,

And it will rotate back
into helicopter mode and land.

♪

The entire airframe
is transitioning

Into a higher airspeed.

It's very complicated
to balance thrust

Coming off of the prop rotors

And how much of it's going
for forward speed.

♪

- The development period
for the osprey was a rough one.

♪

The mv-22 was first envisioned

As early as the 1970s.

They knew
that they wanted something

That could take off
vertically or horizontally.

♪

There was
"learn as you go" mentality,

And it had its challenges.

- The setbacks include
2 deadly crashes in 2000

That killed 23 marines.

♪

- The loss of life
and the sacrifices

Are something
in any emergent technology.

No loss of life
is ever acceptable,

But there are
technological challenges.

♪

- When you develop
an entirely new aircraft type,

There are all sorts of issues
that will arise.

♪

There was some hesitancy
about its use,

But it performed flawlessly.

And the breadth of its
operational capabilities

Has expanded.

- Turning to afghanistan,

Today the u.S. Launched a major
offensive in the south--

Operation cobra's anger.

- Cobra's anger
was planned and executed

To disrupt anti-coalition
militia activity

In afghanistan in 2009.

- 1,000 marines swooped
into a taliban hotbed--

The now zad valley
in helmand province.

This offensive will pave
the way for the surge

Of 30,000 additional troops.

- The goal
of operation cobra's anger

Was to disrupt the taliban,
the haqqani network,

And other types of militia

That were operating
throughout afghanistan.

♪

The osprey's role in this was,
move a lot of stuff,

A lot of people really quickly
and get it on target

And land it right exactly
where it needed to be landed.

♪

One of the big risks

For helicopters when they're
close to the ground

Is small-arms ambushes,
notably with rpg--

Rocket-propelled-grenade--
attacks.

♪

Any of those operations
are extremely dangerous,

Because if there's a person

At the right place
with the right weapons system,

They can take a shot.

♪

The way the marines
fly the osprey,

They don't give
the enemy a chance

To know that they're coming
until they're right there.

♪

The operation was a success

In great measure
due to the osprey.

♪

- You are able to get marines

To places you never thought
you could.

♪

- Go! Go!

- When you talk
about response rate

And combat survivability time,

That's amazing.

♪

- The mv-22 osprey and all
of the aircraft at miramar

Are incredibly complex
machines.

And when something goes wrong,

Only an expertly trained
professional

Can fix the issue.

How's it going?
- How's it going?

- Gunnery sergeant lumet
is a maintainer at miramar,

Who specializes in tilt-rotor
aircraft like the osprey.

♪

- Remi, what we have
here is our engine.

It's what drives the aircraft.

Up here, you can see,
like your car back home,

We'll have your transmission.

So this aircraft
has five transmissions.

Two of them are here,

And one of them is
in the middle of the aircraft.

And then you have
your generator--

That's right there--
which produces electricity

For the aircraft
to power all its avionics.

Hydraulic pumps, which
help power

All the flight-control systems.

And you have
your flight-control module,

Which essentially gives power
to all those components.

- And everything matches
on each end, correct?

- Correct.

Yeah, so this side here

Essentially mirrors
the left-hand side.

♪

- How much training
is required to be able

To maintain something
as big and complex as this?

- Every marine assigned to work
in marine corps aviation

Will go to a schoolhouse
essentially

To get the basic understanding

To be able to work
on this aircraft.

And then from there,
they'll get assigned

To a unit much like this one,

Where it's very important to
get that on-the-job training.

- So I would assume
the pilots can't do your job.

So pilots can't do
what they do up there

Unless you do what you do
down here, is that right?

- Yes, and that's one
of the things

We tell all our junior marines.

And their job is
extremely important

Because they actually get
to put hands on this aircraft

And ensure
that it's safe to fly.

- It shows the benefit

Of being able to, you know, be
a part of a team

And be a part
of this community.

You get some awesome
responsibilities.

- Exactly.

♪

- While there's a lot
to see and hear...

On the ground
at mcas miramar,

I think it's time
to get some air.

♪

I've learned about the nuts
and bolts of an osprey.

Now it's time
to take one for a spin.

♪

- What's up, guys?
- Hey, how's it going?

Captain dylan hansen.

I'm the aircraft commander
for today's flight.

- Nice to meet you, captain.
- Nice to meet you, too.

- The pilots and crew chief
have logged hundreds of hours

On this tilt-rotor aircraft.

Now, what type of operations

Do you typically use
an osprey for?

- So we use those
for assault support.

Basic understanding for that
is taking people and things

To where they need to go.

We also use it
for humanitarian aid.

The crews
are specifically trained

To handle personnel and cargo.

So we can easily transfer
those skills

From the combat environment

Into the humanitarian
environment as well.

- So what are you going to have

This old salty frogman
doing today?

- We're going to go out
over the hill today

Into the imperial valley

To a normal training area

To do some
confined-area landings.

And then we're also getting
training for our copilots

In the other plane as well.

- Any guys jumping
out the back?

- Yeah, I've had people jump
out the back, yeah.

- Think I'll be able to
jump out the back today?

- No, not today, not today.
- [laughs]

♪

- The osprey--
I've ridden on it.

And they lift it off--

It's just like a collective
in a helicopter.

♪

It's an incredibly smooth
liftoff experience.

It's almost like you think,
oh, wow, we're moving.

♪

I remember lifting off,
and the only way I knew was,

You know, I saw the ground get
a little bit smaller.

♪

- When I first saw the osprey,

It was almost childlike,
my response.

♪

You saw it lift up,

And then all of a sudden,
you go, what?

You just couldn't get
your mind around it.

♪

♪

- And then they
rotate the nacelles.

♪

And so that's when they move
the nacelles forward.

And everybody knows that,
hold on,

Because it's really going
to start accelerating.

♪

And you can feel--get
pressed back into your seat.

It's like no other
aircraft experience.

♪

- Yeah...

♪

[engines rumbling]

♪

- Marine aviation
has a unique past

And distinct place within
the united states military.

♪

Despite hurdles
since its inception...

♪

These elite men
and women

Have been able
to surpass the moment

And realize the mission...

Delivering time
and time again.

♪

And marine aviation's
adaptability

Has made it one
of the most versatile outfits

In the military,

Protecting troops
on the ground

And the country
from threats around the world.

♪