US Marine Corps/1st Lt. Colin Kennard
A US Marine KC-130J pilot walks to his parked aircraft during the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin trans-Pacific flight, Cassidy International Airport, Kiribati, September 19, 2019.
- Marines in Australia recently completed a flight across the Pacific, taking MV-22 Ospreys from Darwin to their home station in Hawaii.
- It's the fourth trans-Pacific trip for the Ospreys, again testing the tilt-rotor aircraft's capabilities and flexibility.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - US Marines with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin completed a trans-Pacific flight in MV-22 Ospreys for the fourth time, transiting from Darwin, Australia, to their home station on Marine Corps Base Hawaii on September 19.
The flight consisted of four MV-22 Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, Reinforced, supported by two KC-130J Hercules from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, and was conducted to improve upon the Osprey trans-Pacific concept that had been developed and refined over the past three MRF-D iterations.
"Being able to fly our aircraft from Australia to Hawaii is a great example of the flexibility and options that the Ospreys create for a commander," said US Marine Maj. Kyle Ladwig, operations officer for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, Reinforced.