The MV-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane, is making history in Iraq's western Anbar province.

The latest word from the Marines is that we'll have to wait until 2015 for the aircraft with oversized props to make history over Hawai'i.

The Corps plans to replace its more than three dozen aging CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters at Kane'ohe Bay with Ospreys. Previously, the Marines had said that would take place by 2011, but officials now say 2015 is the best ballpark estimate.

At Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, 10 of the MV-22s out of Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, the newest aircraft in the inventory, replaced some of the oldest — CH-53D Sea Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 at Kane'ohe Bay.

The "Delta" model 53s were first fielded in 1969. All the aircraft left in the Marine Corps are based in Hawai'i.

The "Ugly Angels" of HMH-362 were the first Marine aircraft unit to deploy in support of the Vietnam War, according to the unit.

The controversial Osprey has been in development for 25 years and crashes in 1991, 1992, and two in 2000 have resulted in 30 fatalities.

Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in December that the Ospreys in Iraq were starting to be used as aerial scouts for raids conducted in Anbar province. One advantage Conway said the aircraft has is that they are quiet.

"That's a characteristic that you don't appreciate unless you've sort of been up close to one," he said.

Ospreys are slated to replace CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters Marine Corps-wide as well as the 53 Deltas at Kane'ohe Bay.

The Marines plan to buy a total of 360 of the Ospreys, which cost about $69 million a copy.

Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, the Marines' deputy commandant for aviation, said in 2006 that the plan was to transition two squadrons to the Osprey each year, with final operational capability in 2018.

Castellaw said the fleet would be transitioned in the following order: East Coast, West Coast, Okinawa and Hawai'i. Reserve squadrons would be the last to receive the MV-22 in 2018.

IN BRIEF

SCHOFIELD BATTALION MAKES HISTORY

The 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, out of Schofield Barracks claimed a new place in history by becoming the first Army unit to fire the new M777A2 howitzer in Iraq.

According to military.com, the M777 is the lightest gun of its kind, and the first howitzer to weigh in at less than 10,000 pounds. The M777 is easily transported and can fire all existing 155 mm projectiles.

The field artillery unit is part of the Stryker brigade. About 4,000 Schofield soldiers are part of the deployment to Camp Taji just north of Baghdad that began in November.

Marines at Kane'ohe Bay also have begun to use the M777 howitzer.

CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY SET

A change of command for U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 1 at Palm Circle. Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III is retiring, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon is assuming command.

Mixon commands the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, and recently completed a deployment to Iraq as commander of Multinational Division-North, a Pennsylvania-sized region of the country.

SOLDIER'S COURT-MARTIAL IS FEB. 19

A trial date of Feb. 19 has been set for a Schofield Barracks soldier accused of shooting an unarmed Iraqi man on a recent deployment.

Spc. Christopher Shore, 25, of Winder, Ga., will face a charge of third-degree murder, defined as an "act inherently dangerous to another," according to the Army.

Schofield officials said the charge Shore will be court-martialed on is roughly equivalent to a civilian manslaughter charge. If convicted, Shore faces up to life in prison, but there is no mandatory minimum term.

Shore and Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales, 35, of San Antonio, are accused of shooting an unarmed Iraqi man on June 23 after a raid in the village of al Saheed outside Kirkuk. The soldiers were looking for insurgents planting roadside bombs.

The Army accused Shore of shooting the Iraqi after being ordered to do so by Corrales. Corrales is charged with premeditated murder. The soldiers are with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.