Air Force Special Operations Command will up-armor its CV-22 Osprey fleets through a sole source contract to Florida-based The Protective Group, according to a notice posted this week. The Advanced Ballistic Stopping System is a panel system to be applied to the Ospreys in multiple configurations “based upon mission need/requirements,” the notice states. The armor will protect both the aircrew and “critical components” of the aircraft. The Protective Group has already provided 16 kits to AFSOC. The amount of the order, and the total price, has not been announced.
The withdrawal of about 700 U.S. forces from Somalia required a massive nocturnal airlift, movement of fighters and tankers from the Middle East, and other overwatch from drones and other special operations aircraft, all planned and executed within weeks. The mission, called Operation Octave Quartz, came after former President Donald…