Air Force’s Ospreys will return to forward-deployment within ‘weeks’

The Air Force is weeks away from sending its V-22 Ospreys back to combatant commands after the Pentagon lifted a months-long grounding on the tiltrotor fleet earlier this year. 

“We will deploy out here in the coming weeks, back to support other geographic combatant commanders. We’ll go back to the missions that only the CV-22 can do, or what the combatant commanders need us to do,” Air Force Special Operations Command head Lt. Gen. Michael Conley told reporters Wednesday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber conference. Conley didn’t specify where they would send the V-22s, but said it will be to “support the wars we’re engaged in,” and noted it won’t be INDOPACOM or EUCOM, since those commands already have V-22 wings assigned there. 

The Pentagon grounded its entire fleet of Ospreys in late 2023 after a deadly crash off the coast of Japan killed eight airmen in November. The aircraft were cleared to fly again in March with some limitations: flights and missions have to stay within 30 minutes of a “suitable divert airfield.” 

But Conley said the divert rule is just a “planning factor,” and won’t affect AFSOC’s ability to complete its mission for combatant commands. 

“I won’t even call it a limitation,” Conley said. 

As of today, 60 percent of the fleet is fully operational, and by late 2024 or early next year, all 51 of the service’s CV-22s will be ready for duty, Conley said.  

Last month, the Air Force released its investigation into the November crash, and found it was caused by the “catastrophic failure” of a prop-rotor gearbox and the pilot’s decision to keep flying despite warnings. The service still doesn’t know exactly why the part failed, but Conley maintained it was a “rare” occurrence. 

Conley doesn’t believe the failure was caused by poor material from Bell Textron and Boeing, who build the Pentagon’s V-22s. The companies have been “good partners” throughout the investigation, he added. But the families of Marines killed in a 2022 Osprey crash disagree, and are suing the companies, alleging they knew the aircraft was unsafe and failed to disclose that to the Pentagon.

Aviation Week reported last week that the Air Force is considering overhauling the V-22’s airworthiness certification. Asked about the possibility of the service rescinding airworthiness, Conley said: “I don’t think we’re there. I think discussions may continue, but I don’t think anyone’s close to a decision on whether we need to break from the current construct.”