The Navy‘s high aviation officer stated the grounding of the V-22 Osprey has pressured him to faucet into his remaining C-2 Greyhound plane with a purpose to hold plane carriers within the Pacific and the Center East provided and operational.
“Fortunate for the Navy that the C-2 Greyhound remains to be out there,” Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever instructed a crowd at a panel dialogue on the annual WEST 2024 convention Tuesday.
Cheever stated the ocean service has seen “restricted operational influence at this level” from tapping the Greyhounds to fill its wants, however that there will likely be “vital operational impacts” sooner or later if the Osprey is not returned to service following a grounding throughout the Navy, Air Power and Marine Corps that resulted from a Nov. 29 crash in Japan that killed eight airmen.
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The Greyhound has been a staple of plane provider life for many years. Cmdr. Beth Educate, a spokeswoman for Cheever, stated in an e-mail that the plane has been in service for 60 years, however the Navy is planning to retire it solely by 2026.
For now, although, the final remaining squadron of 15 Greyhounds “is at the moment surging to fulfill the Provider Onboard Supply mission for deployed plane carriers in U.S. fifth and seventh Fleets,” Educate confirmed.
The Osprey has been barred from flying for 69 days now after the lethal crash.
Navy.com realized final week that Pentagon security officers are speaking with the Air Power, Marine Corps and Navy in regards to the potential dangers concerned with flying the Osprey once more. The standing of the present Protection Division probe, what prompted officers to begin speaking with the providers, and a potential timeline for placing the V-22 again within the air are nonetheless unknown.
The top of the Air Power’s particular operations command instructed reporters Tuesday that there are “conversations occurring at a number of ranges” about getting the Osprey flying once more however added that there aren’t any new findings or timelines to report.
In the meantime, the influence for the Marine Corps is way extra critical.
Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl stated that the Corps has seen “dramatic impacts” from the flying halt. Heckl famous that operations for 3 Marine expeditionary models, or MEUs — together with the twenty sixth MEU at the moment on deployment with the Bataan Amphibious Prepared Group within the Mediterranean — have been affected.
The Greyhound surge comes amid the Navy’s efforts to take away the plane from service solely. The service has stopped coaching new pilots and is starting to halt the acquisition of provides and components for the plane.
“It has been the workhorse for years and years and years,” Cheever stated. “They are not sundowned but so we’re sustaining that functionality and capability as we undergo this [grounding].”
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