Consequences of Fleet Grounding
The recent three-month grounding of the Pentagon’s V-22 Osprey fleet has had a „considerable” impact on Navy aviators and crews, particularly as the service transitions to using the Osprey as its primary aircraft for transporting personnel and cargo. Capt. Andrew Beard, deputy commodore of the Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing, shared insights on these challenges during a press briefing preceding the West 2025 exposition.
“VRM-30 lost two deployments on the aircraft carriers Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln,” Beard reported, highlighting that pilots and aircrew were unable to gain valuable experience during the downtime.
Training Disruptions
The squadron, VRM-30, represents the Navy’s first CMV-22B Osprey unit, transitioning from the legacy C-2A Greyhound. Beard emphasized the setback for junior personnel, stating, “Some of the junior folks probably didn’t fly in an aircraft for about five months. That’s considerable — due to no fault of their own.” He drew a parallel to being sidelined due to medical issues, noting that even senior personnel had to regain their flight proficiency amid the grounding.
Safety Concerns and Operational Limitations
Since August 2022, the V-22 fleet has faced several safety pauses, culminating in a three-month grounding after a tragic crash off Japan’s coast in November 2023 that claimed eight lives. Following this incident and subsequent issues in December, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) granted conditional flight operations under specific restrictions. These included monitoring the aircraft’s gearbox based on a predetermined flight hour threshold, which has not been publicly disclosed.
Beard described the aircraft’s operational divisions concerning their gearbox flight hours—those under and those over 400 hours—implying challenges particularly affect the newer V-22s. NAVAIR declined to comment on Beard’s remarks when queried.
Operational Challenges for Carrier Support
Capt. Beard outlined the Navy’s current priorities, focusing on establishing detachments and supporting the carrier schedule. However, the restrictions associated with the interim flight clearance present challenges, especially considering that one key restriction prohibits flights beyond 30 minutes from a landing area—a particularly difficult constraint for operations over open water.
Currently, the detachment aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) experiences days when conditions prevent flights due to the carrier’s position in the Western Pacific, though crews retain some discretion in critical situations. “All of our crews know and train to if there’s — if you’re in extremis and there’s a rock and it’s flat. Get it done,” Beard concluded, underscoring the resolve and training of the personnel involved in these operations.