The US Navy’s new CMV-22B Osprey has demonstrated itself as a ‘game-changer’ platform in its first deployment, according to the US Navy’s Air chief.
The CMV-22B is a variant of the V-22 Osprey, a multi-mission, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) tiltrotor aircraft designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
“It (CMV-22B Osprey) proved to be a game-changer for us on deployment,” Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander of Naval Air Forces (NAVAIR) and Naval Air Force, US Pacific Fleet, said on July 15, during a Maritime Security Dialogue event on Naval Aviation hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) and the US Naval Institute.
![](https://www.navalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/First-Operational-Deployment-for-US-Navys-CMV-22B-and-F-35C.jpg)
The new Osprey achieved its initial operational capability in December 2021 during its maiden deployment on the US Navy’s Nimitz-class supercarrier, USS Carl Vinson, in the Pacific, which coincided with the first-ever forward deployment of the F-35C as well.
New Osprey Will Replace Existing Greyhounds
The CMV-22 is supposed to replace the US Navy’s existing C-2A Greyhound as a carrier onboard delivery (COD) platform to support the deployment of F-35C because the C-2A cannot ferry the heavy F-135 engine of the Navy’s only carrier-capable fifth generation, long-range stealth strike fighter.
Powered by the two Rolls-Royce Liberty AE1107C engines, each delivering 6,200 shaft horsepower, the CMV-22B can transport up to 6000 pounds (2721.55 kilograms) of cargo or personnel over 1,150 nautical miles (2129.8 kilometers) range.
The C-2A, powered by two Allison T56-A-425 turboprop engines producing 4,600 shaft horsepower, has a slightly lesser range of around 1000 nautical miles (1852 kilometers).
![C-2A NP-2000 VRC-40 in flight 2009 (modified).jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/C-2A_NP-2000_VRC-40_in_flight_2009_%28modified%29.jpg)
Furthermore, the CMV-22 can conduct nighttime COD operations, which is a significant improvement over the Greyhound, as it provides more opportunities for the aircraft carrier to receive supplies.
This was evident when Whitesell stressed “the ability to bring a CMV-22 aboard a carrier at night,” saying the Navy has been “reticent in the past” to allow Greyhounds to do night carrier landings “based on the avionics in that platform.”
Also, the C-2A Greyhound was launched using catapults and recovered with an arrested landing, needing the crew aboard the aircraft carrier to ensure that the equipment was always working.
The CMV-22 can take off and land vertically, offering more flexibility in getting the cargo up and around a theatre.
“The ability to get it (CMV-22) on and off the deck in a rather rapid fashion, I don’t have to clean catapults 3 and 4 up and land a COD; now I can land it just like a helicopter,” said Whitesell.
The VTOL capability of the CMV-22 also makes it suitable for medical evacuations, as the medical personnel no longer have to worry about the effect of the massive launching force of the catapults on the patients.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/C-2_Greyhound_launching_from_a_carrier.jpg/1024px-C-2_Greyhound_launching_from_a_carrier.jpg)
“It’s not a catapult shot that now the senior flight surgeon has got to worry about. Now we can fly somebody off – we can fly somebody off immediately for that,” Whitesell noted.
While the Program of Record has 48 CMV-22 projected, the Navy plans to procure only 44 aircraft, according to NAVAIR’s factsheet on CMV-22, which was last updated in February 2022.
Concerns About CMV-22’s Operational Suitability
There have also been concerns about the CMV-22’s ‘operational suitability,’ as reported by Bloomberg News in February, just as the US Navy official declared the IOC achievement of the new Osprey.
The CMV-22 only “partially met reliability requirements,” reported Bloomberg citing a non-public assessment of the Pentagon’s testing office.
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This non-pubic assessment reportedly found that the new Osprey’s Ice Protection System was responsible for 25% of the COD aircraft’s operational mission failures, resulting in mission aborts.
The Ice Protection System is responsible for preventing the ‘aircraft icing’ – atmospheric moisture from accumulating on aircraft surfaces, such as wings, propellers, rotor blades, engine intakes, and environmental control intakes – that could otherwise increase the aircraft’s weight and drag, thereby decreasing its lift and thrust.
Furthermore, there were problems with aircraft High Frequency (HF) radio required for the beyond-line-of-sight communications to support the Navy’s operations far from shore. The HF radio was reportedly found to be “inconsistent, demonstrating a 12% success rate for long-range, two-way communications,” according to the assessment.
Despite these issues, the test office found the CMV-22B Osprey as operationally effective for COD missions, medical evacuation, Naval Special Warfare support, and search and rescue missions, according to Bloomberg.
Likewise, even Whitesell concluded about the CMV-22 that it was “safe and efficient on its first deployment.”
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