Tiltrotor

Pentagon clears Osprey flight operations to resume

The Pentagon has cleared all three variants of the V-22 Osprey to return to flight after what has been a three-month grounding. US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) initially grounded its CV-22B fleet after the fatal loss of an aircraft on November 29, 2023, before US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) grounded the rest of the US Osprey force

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Global V-22 Osprey fleet grounded following fatal crash in Japan

A USAF-operated CV-22B Osprey was lost off Yakushima Island, Japan, on November 29, killing all eight airmen on board and resulting in a global operational stand-down of the tiltrotor

US Army names Bell’s V-280 Valor as Black Hawk successor

The US Army revealed on December 5 that it has awarded the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft contract to Bell Textron and its V-280 Valor tiltrotor – a platform that will eventually replace the service’s Black Hawk helicopters and shape the future of US Army Aviation operations

CV-22B remains trapped in Norway as USAF lifts grounding order

Having been grounded for just over two weeks, AFSOC has cleared its 52-strong fleet of Bell Boeing CV-22B Ospreys to fly again, but one example remains trapped on an island in Norway after the tiltrotor was forced to make an emergency landing there on August 12, 2022

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Pilot error cited as cause of MV-22B Osprey crash in Norway

An official USMC investigation into the crash of an MV-22B Osprey in Norway on March 18, 2022, has found that pilot error was the cause of the accident. The results of the Command Investigation were published on August 14

USAF grounds CV-22B Osprey fleet

On August 16, the Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt Gen Jim Slife directed a safety stand down of all 52 CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in the fleet

USAF KC-46A in-flight refuels CV-22B for the first time

The USAF’s Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker fleet reached another milestone on June 1, after the type successfully refuelled a CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor in flight for the first time

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US Navy declares IOC with CMV-22B Osprey

The US Navy has publicly declared that initial operational capability has been reached with its CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft

Nacelles upgrade completed on first CV-22 tiltrotor

Bell has completed the first nacelle improvements modification on a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey, part of an ongoing upgrade in co-ordination with Boeing to improve wiring within the nacelles and adapt its structure to improve maintainability

AFSOC receives final CV-22B Osprey

US Air Force Special Operations Command’s 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron/20th Air Maintenance Unit rolled out the final Bell Boeing CV-22B Osprey at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, on May 22