The U.S. Navy’s first operational CMV-22B tilt-rotor aircraft, the latest variant in Osprey family, assigned to Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 arrived at Naval Air Station North Island.
The new aircraft is designed to replace ageing C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft. It is the only aircraft that can land on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier with the F-35C engine power module safely secured inside its fuselage and provide roll-on/roll-off delivery. Expanded sponsons increase fuel capacity and enable the CMV-22B to provide enhanced logistical capability anywhere in the world.
Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 was established in late 2018 to begin the Navy’s transition from the C-2A Greyhound, which has provided logistics support to aircraft carriers for four decades, to the CMV-22B, which has an increased operational range, greater cargo capacity, faster cargo loading/unloading, increased survivability and enhanced beyond-line-of-sight communications compared to the C-2A. The unit is expected to receive 18 new aircraft.
“The arrival of this extremely capable aircraft is exciting, especially for the Sailors of VRM-30 who have been working so hard for so long; this arrival takes it from a notional airplane to the real thing,” said CAPT Dewon Chaney, Commodore of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing (COMVRMWING). “They will have pride in ownership and know that their mission is to keep this aircraft airborne to support the fleet, so this is a great day for Naval Aviation.”
According to Coronado Times NewsPaper, the Navy has taken a very measured approach to ensure this aircraft is safely integrated into the fleet. Commander Trevor Hermann, Commanding Officer of VRM-30 has spent the last 18 months leading his team through those challenges.
“We have brought folks from three different communities [the helicopter community, the COD community and the Marine Corps] along with their varied experience and expertise, together to form the VRM community. Our biggest challenge is to coalesce a team that has been spread across three bases and eight squadrons during this stand up. To be prepared and ready for operations we have leveraged the 20 years of Marine Corps experience with this aircraft and had our Sailors training with them, deploying with them and bringing their new knowledge back to the fleet. We have a group of very ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things and I couldn’t be more proud.”
During the VRM-30 establishment ceremony, Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, Commander Naval Air Forces said, “Where no instructions existed, no patch existed, no ‘here’s how we are going to perform our duties everyday’ existed, this team will define that. And it’s exciting because we can establish right off the bat those best practices. This platform is our future and when you look at the nature of the future fight, we need that versatility, that flexibility.”
