Tongdao Think Tank 2024-02-16 11:12 Beijing.
The U.S. Navy is reconsidering plans to resupply the carrier fleet in the short term due to the uncertainty surrounding the return of the V-22 tiltrotor to full operation, while there is more uncertainty in the long term, according to the USNI Network on February 13.
The US Naval Aviation initially planned to decommission the remaining 15 C-2A Greyhound airborne transport aircraft over the next two years and replace them with a total of 38 CMV-22B Ospreys.
Fortunately for the Navy, the C-2 Greyhound aircraft are still available," said US Air Force Admiral Daniel Chefer.
As part of the decommissioning of the Greyhound program, the US Navy has stopped training new C-2 pilots and has begun to reduce spare parts and logistical support for the 60-year-old one.
This transition, which was completed on the West Coast after an Air Force Special Operations MV-22 crashed off the coast of Japan late last year, is now stalled by the grounding of the V-22 by the US Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.
As of Tuesday, the Osprey had been out of service for 69 days, and there was no indication of how long the grounding would last.
The grounding forced the Navy to replace the V-70 on the West Coast aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson (CVN-22) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-22) with C-2.
"The VRC-40 is currently rapidly fulfilling the [COD] tasks of aircraft carriers deployed by the U.S. Fifth and Seventh Fleets," the U.S. Naval Air statement said. ”
While the plans for the C-2 have not yet changed, neither of the services has revealed how long the V-22 may be out of service. After the initial grounding of the fleet, there was very limited information about the root cause of the grounding, aside from a "potential material failure".
For the US Marine Corps, the situation is even more dire. The actions of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is stationed in Japan, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is deployed in the Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group, and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is preparing to be deployed on the Boxer ARG, have seen a "huge impact."
The U.S. Marine Corps** said that in specific emergency situations, the Marine Corps can use the Osprey deployed on the Bataan ARG. The first task of the 26th Expeditionary Expeditionary Expedition, currently deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean, is reported to be the evacuation of non-combatants from Lebanon.
Last month, Adm. Chris Mahoney, assistant commander of the U.S. Marine Corps, said that the longer the grounding, the greater the risk that the Marines would lose proficiency in the aircraft. "At some point, if the pilot doesn't fly, the maintenance crew doesn't turn the wrench, the observer or the crew leader doesn't perform their duties, there will be a capability problem and, in turn, a safety problem," he said. ”
February** Dynamic Incentive Program