Navy to activate first CMV-22B tilt-rotor aircraft squadron

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Navy on Monday announced it held a ceremony to establish of its first squadron of CMV-22B tilt-rotor cargo aircraft, starting the transition from the C-2A Greyhound.

The squadron, VRM 30, was officially established at a Dec. 14 ceremony at Naval Base Coronado. It is part of the Navy's transition away from the venerable C-2A Greyhound naval transportation planes designed for resupply of aircraft carriers.

The Navy says that new aircraft will have greater cargo capacity, faster speed and longer range than the C-2.

"Where no instructions existed, no patch existed, no 'here's how we are going to perform our duties everyday' existed, this team will define that," Vice Adm. DeWolfe H. Miller III, commander of naval air forces, said in a statement. "And it's exciting because we can establish right off the bat those best practices."

"This platform is our future and when you look at the nature of the future fight, we need that versatility, that flexibility that's going to be provided in every subsequent squadron that transitions."

The first CMV-22B aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the squadron in 2020. The VRM-30 squadron will be training with Marine Corps pilot's experienced with the V-22 airframe in the meantime. The CMV-22B is the Navy's version of the V-22.

The V-22 Osprey is the primary assault support aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps. It has a unique design that uses twin rotor engines for vertical take-off and landing that can be tilted forward for conventional turboprop flight, allowing much higher speed and endurance than conventional helicopters.

The Osprey has faced numerous design problems and accidents during its development since the late 1980's with dozens of fatalities from crashes.