Photos: U.S. Navy CMV-22B Osprey Lands on an Aircraft Carrier for the First Time

U.S. Navy CMV-22B Osprey Lands on an Aircraft Carrier for the First Time
PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 20, 2020) A CMV-22B Osprey from the โ€œTitansโ€ of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 approaches the flight deck of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). This evolution marked the first time the Navyโ€™s CMV-22B Ospreys have landed on a carrier. Vinson is currently underway conducting routine maritime operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aaron T. Smith)
Share

A CMV-22B Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) variant of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft from the โ€œTitansโ€ of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 landed aboard USS Carl Vinson while operating in the Pacific Ocean. This evolution marked the first time the US Navyโ€™s new COD platform has ever landed on a carrier.

The CMV-22B is designed to carry up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and/or personnel and operate up to a range of 1,150 nautical miles. One of the reasons the Navy selected the V-22 airframe to serve in the COD role is because of its ability to carry the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine power module used by the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

Other features of the CMV-22 include a beyond-line-of-sight, high-frequency radio system, and internal public-address system to communicate with passengers, and an improved lighting system to assist with cargo loading.

The Navyโ€™s program of record is to acquire 48 aircraft across all VRM squadrons to serve as replacements for the venerable C-2A Greyhound, which has been fulfilling the COD role since 1966. Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 โ€œTitans,โ€ based on the West Coast of the United States, took possession of its first CMV-22B this summer, and is scheduled to field the Ospreys on its first operational detachment aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) later next year.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 21, 2020) A CMV-22B Osprey from the โ€œTitansโ€ of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 is refueled on the flight deck of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). This marked the first refueling of a CMV-22B Osprey aboard an aircraft carrier. Vinson is currently underway conducting routine maritime operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Josiah J. Kunkle)

A new squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 40, will be established on the East Coast, will take possession of its aircraft beginning in FY2022. The Navy also plans to stand up a training squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 50, in California adjacent to VRM-30.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement