Osprey fleet won’t return to full flight operations until 2025
By Courtney Mabeus-Brown
Jun 12, 2024, 05:38 PM
The U.S. military doesn’t expect its fleet of more than 400 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to fully resume normal flight operations until at least the middle of 2025, a Navy admiral in charge of the joint program told a House Oversight subcommittee Wednesday.
Naval Air Systems Command boss Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, whose office oversees Ospreys in use across the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, said a review that is probing whether the enterprise has adequate manning, training and equipment, will last another six to nine months.
Congress still waiting on Osprey crash, safety documents from Pentagon
Lawmakers haven't received more details on Osprey proprotor gearboxes, a component that was a factor in the 2023 crash off Japan that killed eight airmen.
By Tara Copp, AP
“As we have findings from the comprehensive review, I will take the necessary actions to ensure continued safe flight operations,” Chebi told the panel of lawmakers.
The command allowed the Osprey to begin returning to the air — with flight restrictions in place — in early March, three months after the fleet was grounded in early December following an Air Force CV-22 crash off the coast of Japan that killed all eight airmen on board.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-air-force/2024/06/12/osprey-fleet-wont-return-to-full-flight-operations-until-2025/
