B-roll video footage of a Marine V-22 Osprey from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 774 conducting an Air Assault mission with Easy Company, 2-506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade "Rakkasans", 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as part of Operation Lethal Eagle

 

B-roll video footage of a Marine V-22 Osprey from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 774 conducting an Air Assault mission with Easy Company, 2-506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade "Rakkasans", 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as part of Operation Lethal Eagle (OLE) 26.1 on January 23, 2026. Operation Lethal Eagle, a 21-day rigorous training exercise, is designed to train individual and collective lethality, prototype Army initiatives, and build mastery of large-scale, long-range air assault capabilities throughout the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

(U.S. Army video by Sgt. 1st Class Josh Joyner)

They're just getting practice in for when the Army has a tilt rotor of its own.  That new beast I think is gonna be fierce.  My guess is that the 160th will test and adopt it pretty damn quick as will AFSOC.

Depending on its capabilities and budget implications you might even see the Navy revive its Special Ops Air Units and get the SEALs a few for homegrown aviation support.

With SOCOM apparently here to stay I think that might be the one hold up for MARSOC.  They're attached to the regular Marine Corps whether they like it or not yet have no independent assets to assist them in their mission.

If they ever get a powerful advocate in the Marine Corps I can even see them getting a few dozen to make MARSOC the monster they want it to be.  Then they'll finally get in the game...maybe as a Ranger alternative but in the game none-the-less. Hell if they're extremely lucky maybe they can tap into the old Force Recon legacy and get to be one of SOCOMs long range special recon/direct action, tier 1 forces.