Full article here. According to the article, Osprey fans and supporters have been calling for a research and development project for a belly gun for the Osprey for years. Strange. We figured out how to mount machine guns on aircraft back in 1915, Antony Fokker did the deed. Bolt the gun to the fuselage somewhere, cut a hole for the gun muzzle to stick out of, and the job is done. You have to steer the aircraft to lay the gun, but that's easier and more instinctive and more reliable than some kinda steerable gun mount. No R & D required, just go do it. We did it back in Viet Nam, the local boys managed to mount a 30 cal Gatling gun on an F4C, and Chuck Yeager scored a number of kills with it. It worked so well that the next version of the F4, the F4D, was built with an internal gun.
Plus, the mission of the Osprey is to carry troops and land them behind enemy lines. Adding guns and ammunition costs range and payload, i.e. an armed Osprey is less effective at its primary mission than an unarmed one. If the landing zone is hot, send some armed escort fighters along with the Ospreys to dust off any bad guys stupid enough to stick their heads up.
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