{"id":11681,"date":"2018-11-15T23:58:08","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T23:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/15\/navys-cod-switch-to-the-osprey-has-started-what-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:00:49","slug":"navys-cod-switch-to-the-osprey-has-started-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/11\/15\/navys-cod-switch-to-the-osprey-has-started-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy\u2019s COD switch to the Osprey has started \u2014 what you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Navy\u2019s ongoing efforts to swap out its aging fleet of Greyhounds is going smoothly, even if the new souped-up Ospreys won\u2019t be fully fielded until the mid- to late-2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The switch at carrier-based fleet logistic squadrons officially kicked off on Oct. 1 and the effort was boosted on Nov. 14 by a Navy announcement that a study found replacing 27 C2A Greyhounds <\/a>with 38 CMV-22B Osprey<\/a> tilt-rotor aircraft won\u2019t harm the environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those findings negate the need<\/a> for a larger environmental impact statement. removing a key administrative hurdle from the Osprey roll out, according to Fleet Forces Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy announced the transition in 2015 but several important decisions remain to be announced, including locations for the Osprey training squadron and the fleet logistics wing that will oversee the arrival of the aircraft across the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A workhorse of the Marine Corps, the Osprey can launch like a helicopter but fly like an airplane, but the Navy\u2019s CMV-22B variant isn\u2019t expected to deliver grunts to the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it will be a top platform for providing what sailors call \u201cCOD\u201d \u2014 carrier onboard delivery capability. The Navy\u2019s Ospreys will be modified to maximize their ability to ferry people, , mail and spare parts from the shore to underway nuclear-powered aircraft carriers around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reliable C-2A Greyhound has filled the role as the carrier Navy\u2019s airline and cargo delivery service since Grumman began rolling them off the assembly line in 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now those aging aircraft have reached the limits of their service lives and need to be retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better match what the Greyhounds can do, the Navy\u2019s Osprey is configured with a larger fuel tank, more communications gear and a public address system in the rear section for passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction of two Navy prototype Ospreys began earlier this year and they\u2019re expected to start flying in 2019, with production models slated for delivery in early 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the Greyhounds, the Navy plans to station a squadron on each coast. Today\u2019s fleet logistic squadrons are located at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and Naval Air Station North Island in California and the Pentagon wants to move the Ospreys there, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\t