A CMV-22B Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) variant of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft from the “Titans” 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 Navy’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.
PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 20, 2020) A CMV-22B Osprey from the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 takes off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). This evolution marked the first time the Navy’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)
The Navy’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 “Titans,” 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.
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.
