A Pair of United States Marine Corps (USMC) Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Make Two Visits into 'Camp Rocky' near Rockhampton Airport

For those that din't attend the Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 (TS19) Open Day at the Rockhampton Showgrounds, there was action aplenty at and near Rockhampton Airport on Saturday 6 July, including two visits by a pair of United States Marine Corps (USMC) Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

The two Ospreys were spotted departing 'Camp Rocky' - the Australian Army Defence Support Unit (DSU) camp adjacent to Rockhampton Airport.  They reportedly arrived from and departed to a position to the East of Rockhampton.

The two Ospreys that visited Camp Rocky on this occasion look to have been 168633 / EP-05 and 168659 / EP-07, which are flown by the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (VMM-265) "Dragons", which is part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.  They are deployed on board the United States Navy ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) which is believed to be currently sailing North to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) where it will be participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre.

It is believed that the same two Ospreys returned to Camp Rocky later on Saturday 6 July in amongst the other United States Army (US Army) and United States Navy (US Navy) helicopter movements - see Blog post above!

For both visits to Camp Rocky, the two Ospreys were heard to be flying together as "Hacksaw 11".

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Daniel B for being at the right place at the right time and capturing and sending through these great photos!

All photos taken by Daniel Bishop  ©