Navy Preps Its New CMV-22B Osprey Variant For Rough Seas & New Missions

By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior

The Navy is preparing its new long-range Osprey variant for rough seas and challenging missions, now that the specially engineered Navy CMV-22B variant is emerging from its first maintenance availability assessing the performance and durability of the aircraft. 

The Navy Osprey entered maintenance at the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., a location which now services all variants of the Osprey to include the Marine Corps MV-22B and the Air Force CV-22. 

“The CMV-22B (Navy variant)  is the newest member of the Osprey family, entering service in June 2020 on the West Coast and April 2024 on the East Coast. In comparison, the Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey has been in use since achieving initial operational capability in 2007, and the Air Force CV-22 variant has been in operational use since 2009. FRCE will take on responsibility for the Navy’s East Coast-based CMV-22B fleet,” A Navy essay states. 

In development for many years, the Navy CMV-22B Osprey variant has been tailored to meet certain high-demand Navy missions such as the Carrier On-Board Delivery mission and long-range force and equipment transport. The Navy Osprey is taking over the Carrier on-Board Delivery mission previously performed by the C-2 Greyhound. 

“With 50 [percent] more internal fuel than the Marine Corps’ Osprey variant, CMV-22B can transport up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and personnel over a 1,150 nautical mile range,” a Navy report from 2022 on the CMV-228 Osprey said. The report added that “the Navy redesigned the forward sponson fuel tanks and added two wing fuel tanks to add capacity and extend the flight range.”

The Navy’s new Osprey provides maritime warfare commanders with a range of new tactical options. As a tiltrotor, the Osprey can take off and land vertically, which means that personnel, weapons, and equipment transport operations will not be restricted to runways or landing strips. This will open up the possibility of “forward dropping” marines in support of an amphibious attack. By employing the Navy’s Mounted Vertical Maneuver concept, an Osprey will be able to lift and drop forces behind enemy lines to reinforce forward bases, conduct assault raids, or perform clandestine surveillance missions.As the Osprey’s tiltrotor brings the speed of an airplane and the maneuverability of a helicopter, it offers a wider sphere of tactical options for picking up forces from land areas and returning them to carriers and amphibious assault ships. The range of the Osprey is also quite significant. Its unprecedented range aligns with the Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations strategy, which calls for an increasingly disaggregated force to leverage long-range sensors and weapons in support of ocean warfare maneuvers.

“While the CMV-22B does have some additional capabilities, the maintenance specifications largely remain the same between the Navy and Marine Corps variants of the Osprey,” FRCE V-22 Branch Head Allen Williamson said in a Navy essay. “The CMV-22B aircraft is structurally identical to the MV-22B, with the exception of the stub wing fuel tanks. Those tanks on the Navy aircraft are actually quite a bit larger, to provide that extra flight range needed for carrier delivery operations.“