I find it seriously hard to believe that they're going to allow that bird into any kind of threat environment without any crew-served weapons...might as well turn all the lights on and hang an 'open for business' sign on the door.
As for stealth...neither aircraft is inherently stealthy. Even with IR supression on the V-22, that thing sets up on final twice as far away as the 53...and they'll hear it comin'. Pretty damned hard to hide something THAT large.
Troops already complain about the rotor wash the -53 kicks up, and how dangerous that becomes in an urban environment when things start flying off clotheslines, front porches, roofs, ect. Just wait till they get a load of what this thing kicks up!
It's an incredibly poor decision for close-in SOF missions. I find the term "bull in a China shop" perfect for this situation. I totally agree with you.
The need for multiple crew-served weapons is mitigrated by a lot of factors.
It has a lot smaller signature than a 53 while it's in APLN. IR and aural sig are greatly reduced. It does set up for a longer final, but when that final is started at over 200 knots, you're reducing the enemy's ability to hit you.
The countermeasures suite, esp on the CV, is going to be very robust. No, I'm not going to list the systems, but it's going to be better than just about any other assault (or "infil" to use the USAF lingo) platform out there. The IR manpad threat is going to be minimized.
As far as weapons, I think the old school overplays the utility of the machine gun out the side. BUT, there is some good she-ite coming down the pike that will allay the fears of even the most ardent "but there's no gun" crowd. The ramp-mounted weapons system is called "interim" for a reason.
Total rotor wash is comparable to a 53. There are some areas where is it focused and some where it is less, but lifties down always=weight up. A 40-50000 lb aircraft is going to have some downwash.
The V-22 is IDEAL for the preponderance of SOF missions. Hell, usually anti-V22ers say something like,"It'd be great for special operations, but not for conventional forces." Range, speed, and low-observability are big assets anytime, but especially in that arena.
