Navy Osprey to Conduct Carrier Night Missions

by Kris Osborn

Navy Osprey pilots conducted a series of maneuvers with an MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft on board the USS Carl Vinson – in preparation for a Navy Osprey variant to be operational 2021.

The new Navy Osprey is slated to replace the existing C2-Greyound currently performing the Carrier-On-Board, or COD, mission brining forces, supplies and equipment from shore to ship and back again.

Increased maneuverability and vertical landings are a few of the distinct advantages provided by the Osprey, Navy officials explained.

“We learned about the flexibility of having a tilt-rotor aircraft that can come in and land like a helicopter on the flight deck,” Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld, public affairs officer, Commander, Naval Air Forces, told Scout Warrior in an interview.

Exercises included delivering supplies, unloading faster with rollers and performing the range of missions now executed by the C-2; the Osprey, however, is more effective at conducting dangerous missions, quickly loading and unloading cargo and operating at night.

An increased ability to tranport food, equipment and weapons at night could increase the combat survivability of transport aircraft brining relevant supplies to carriers, at night-transport aircraft naturally present more diffiicult targets for potential enemies to accurately fire upon. 

Nighttime operations are also much more challenging because reduced visibility also means pilots need to rely more on sensors, avionics and instrumentation to navigate fast-changing conditions and land in turbulent seas.