NAVAIR review uncovers safety and readiness issues in V-22 tiltrotor

The MV-22B Osprey is shown here with the Intrepid Tiger II (V)4 (IT II) electronic warfare payload. (US Navy)

A review initiated by US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in September 2023 has found the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey – including the MV-22, CMV-22, and CV-22 platforms – has safety and readiness issues, namely in governance, manpower, training, and equipment.

The review, published on 12 December, found that the V-22 accumulated safety risks due to four main factors: an inadequate timeline for fixing and mitigating known risks; failure to comply with airworthiness and safety of flight procedures; “airworthiness standards for assessing accumulated risks and for the rate at which risks should be retired”; and differences in service mission objectives and priorities – all of which contribute to the joint programme office's challenge with implementing safety fixes.

In addition, the review found the V-22 missed readiness targets due to a failure to share and implement maintenance best practices across the services; “suboptimised supply systems and maintenance programmes that do not prioritise cross-service readiness outcomes”; reliability issues that contribute to higher maintenance man-hours per flight hour; and inventory management challenges.

Bell-Boeing referred questions about the report to NAVAIR, which had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

The V-22's unique tiltrotor capability makes it an important platform to services such as the US Marine Corps (USMC), Navy (USN), and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), which use it for combat missions, humanitarian missions, and carrier onboard delivery.

However, the type has been involved in 12 Class A mishaps over the past four years, which have resulted in four aircraft destroyed and 20 service members lost.