4 minute read
The Differential Advantage of the CMV-22B
By CAPT Christopher “chet” Misner, USN (Ret.)
With geopolitical tensions rising in multiple regions of the world, it is very clear the United States military must be prepared to fight and win against a peer or near peer adversary. The increased capabilities shown from potential adversaries are driving the need for rapid development of modern warfighting systems along with a renewed focus on industrial capacity and production.
One will assume our colleagues in uniform are war-gaming countless scenarios to determine:
If we have the capabilities to deter and/or defeat a peer/ near-peer adversary.
If we have the equipment, parts, and the support structure to support a lengthy conflict.
These scenarios will be nothing like the localized operations in Grenada and Panama, and larger in both size and scope, to Operation Desert Storm. In the case of an Indo-Pacific fight, we would have to be ready for a scenario we have not seen for 80 years. The sheer size of the Pacific Area of Operations and the potential logistical capability gaps that will undoubtedly come to light when exploring Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO), Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), and Littoral Operations in a contested environment, will drive Combatant, Joint Force, and Component Commanders to spend as much time planning how to support the force as they will planning to employ it.
The requirement to move cargo between dispersed Expeditionary Advanced Bases (EABs), Forward Logistic Support Sites (FLSS), and future Light Amphibious Warships (LAW) at sea will prioritize the need for a dedicated logistics connector. How the Joint Force leverages the versatility and capability of its aviation forces will be key and tiltrotor technology will play an essential role.
Securing the tiltrotor industrial base is something the Defense Department and Congress need to pay special attention to as they look toward the future of rotary-wing aviation. They must contemplate the tiltrotor industrial bases in Bell’s Amarillo and Fort Worth centers and Boeing’s Philadelphia facilities. They must also consider the 500-plus suppliers who support this program today and must continue to sustain it well into the 2050s and beyond.
The speed, range, endurance, overmatch, versatility, and operational flexibility the V-22 has demonstrated over decades of performance, including combat, paved the way for the Navy to develop its own variant of the Osprey. The versatility of the Navy’s CMV-22B gives naval commanders the flexibility to seize opportunities faster and far beyond current rotary wing capabilities. It also opens the door to new missions and operational possibilities that provide the Navy with a “differential advantage” it needs when it comes to solving the problem of contested logistics and support to a distributed Fleet and Joint Force. With two operational deployments completed for the U.S Navy, commanders are learning the CMV-22 is far more than a Carrier On-board Delivery (COD) replacement. The CMV has excelled in a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) role, with an increased range, speed, and ability to inflight refuel, capabilities that far exceed the legacy MH60S. Just as the Marine Corps found new and creative ways to leverage tiltrotor technology, the Navy will also learn how to operate and integrate the Osprey into the Carrier Air Wing and support the Fleet.
If the Navy is going to leverage the CMV to solve complex logistics problems in contested environments and fully support the Fleet, the Navy will require more aircraft than exist in the current Program of Record (PoR). What the Navy must do is come to grips with the reality that the V-22 production lines in Philadelphia and Amarillo could come to an end in the nottoo-distant future. The Navy must leverage every opportunity to add to the Navy’s PoR in a budget conscious way to avoid any negative impacts on future sustainment challenges by maintaining capability and capacity for spare parts with an active production base and supply chain. Bell Boeing has decades of experience producing Ospreys, and that expertise will be required if we are going to continue to preserve and upgrade the V-22 into the latter half of the century. Protecting the nation's only tiltrotor industrial base, by ensuring we have a “hot production line” and establishing a long-term tip-to-tail Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract, are good starting points if our nation’s leaders are serious about having the force structure the Navy needs to ensure it can sustain the required logistical throughput in a contested environment.
