Navy announces CMV-22B initial operational capability 

The Navy's CMV-22B has reached initial operational capability, the service announced Friday.

The CMV-22B, the Navy’s new tiltrotor aircraft which will deliver cargo to aircraft carriers, reached IOC in December 2021, the Navy’s press release stated. The Navy expects full operational capability in 2023.

Bell Boeing has delivered 14 of the 44 aircraft on contract, the Navy said.

The CMV-22B’s first deployment with Carrier Air Wing 2 on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson (CVN-70) wrapped up Thursday, the Navy said.

“As we continue to deliver the advanced platforms that will make up the Air Wing of the Future, the CMV-22B provides the necessary support and more to carry our future force,” Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, director of the Navy’s air warfare division, said.

The platform first deployed in August as Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 embarked on the Vinson alongside the F-35C and E-2D, the Navy said. During this deployment, CMV-22B had a 98% mission completion rate and a 75% mission capable rate, the Navy said.

The CMV-22B can transport 6,000 pounds of cargo and personnel over a 1,150 nautical mile range as it has 50% more internal fuel than the Marine Corps’ Osprey variant, the press release states.

The Navy conducted CMV-22B follow-on operational test and evaluation from January to July 2021, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Nickolas Guertin wrote in his fiscal year 2021 annual report.

While Guertin wrote that this testing was adequate to assess CMV-22Bs’ operational effectiveness, suitability, and survivability, details of this testing were not publicly released in the DOT&E annual report.