The new aircraft the US Navy needs to cover its 'golden mile' just took another major step forward
Ospreys have long been in use by the Marine Corps, but the Navy's CMV-22B variant has some modifications to make it better suited for carrier operations.
It has more fuel capacity in the fuselage and wings, a special high-frequency antenna to aid navigation over open water, and a better intercom system to communicate with passengers.
Source: Navy Times
The expanded fuel capacity allows the CMV-22B to haul up to 6,000 pounds of cargo for a distance of 1,100 nautical miles, or roughly 1,265 statute miles. This beats out the Greyhound's cargo capacity of just 800 pounds and its range of 1,000 nautical miles.
Source: Navy Times
"I started off flying Greyhound carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft and I love the platform," said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Tschanz, a Navy test pilot who took part in the Osprey tests aboard the USS Bush. "With that said, nothing lasts forever and the Navy came up with a solution to move us into the future with the CMV-22 Osprey."
Source: US Navy
F-35Bs belonging to the Marine Corps have already been deployed on a Navy ship. A detachment of the aircraft joined a Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp earlier this year — the F-35B's first operational deployment with an MEU.
Source: US Marine Corps
The Navy's F-35C, the largest of the three Joint Strike Fighter variants, is slated to deploy for the first time aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson sometime in 2021. The fifth-generation fighter is supposed to eventually make up half the fighters based on aircraft carriers.
Source: Popular Mechanics
The Navy plans to run CMV-22 operations out of Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and out of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. The changeover to the new aircraft is expected to start in 2020 and wrap up in 2028.
Source: USNI News
Lt. Gavin Kurey, the first Navy pilot to land a CMV-22 on an aircraft carrier, said the transition to the Osprey for carrier onboard delivery represented a major change.
Source: US Navy
"This underway is a historic event for the Navy," Kurey said in a Navy release. "I never thought I’d be part of something like this as a COD guy. There’s a lot of reluctance to join new platforms that are so different initially, but to be part of the first wave that can help to make that transition happen is an amazing experience."
Source: US Navy
"This is why I went to test pilot school," said Tschanz, the test pilot. "I finished my flight with my co-pilot and we fist-bumped. This is why I joined. This is why I’m a test pilot. It’s things like this that make this job."
Source: US Navy
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