Air Force Ospreys in Japan resume flight ops

U.S. Air Force crews from the Japan-based 353rd Special Operations Wing started flying the CV-22 Osprey once again Tuesday, seven months after one of the aircraft crashed during a training mission, killing all eight airmen on board.

The return to flying followed a “multi-phased” approach to ensure the readiness of crews and follows a “meticulous and data-driven approach” that includes the development of added safety controls, the Air Force said in a news release .

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the safety of the men and women who operate our aircraft and the safety of our community both on base and in Japan,” 21st Special Operations Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Matthew Davis said in a statement. “These safety mitigation measures have been taken seriously, and we would not fly this aircraft without full confidence in the measures, the maintenance professionals implementing them, and the skilled professionals who fly it.”

The U.S. military has said it doesn’t expect its fleet of more than 400 tiltrotor Osprey aircraft to return to full flying operations until at least mid-2025 . Naval Air Systems Command, which leads the joint program office overseeing the aircraft, began allowing the Osprey to fly again in March after a three-month grounding was lifted but with added restrictions.

Ospreys can be flown like an airplane and take off and land like a helicopter. Its vertical take offs and landings make it useful for carrier landings as well as for special operators operating in austere environments. The controversial aircraft has suffered a string of fatal crashes since being introduced into special operations more than two decades ago with four mishaps responsible for the deaths of 20 service members in the last two years.

The military grounded the Ospreys in 2022 and again in 2023, after a series of “hard clutch engagements” that occurred when the input quill assembly, which attaches the Osprey’s engine to its proprotor gear box, wore out earlier than expected. A redesigned clutch is expected to begin testing with fielding anticipated mid-2025. Testing is also underway on a vibration sensing system upgrade to identify complements that need to replaced and a proprotor gearbox pinion bearing redesign is awaiting production and installation.

The military has said the Nov. 29 crash of GUNDAM 22 was the result of a material failure that hadn’t been seen before on the Osprey. An investigation into that crash is nearing completion.

The Marine Corps, which operates hundreds of the aircraft, used them in Sweden as part of Exercise Baltic Operations with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which last week conducted flight operations with the Osprey from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp in the Mediterranean Sea. The Navy, which owns about 30 of the aircraft, is sidelined from using them in its carrier support mission and remains barred from flying them more than 30 minutes from an airfield where they could land in an emergency.

The Air Force owns about 50 Ospreys. While the 353rd resumes flying, crews from the 27th Special Operations Wing, based at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, have also resumed limited flying operations based on aircraft availability after spending months keeping up their proficiency in simulator training, something Japan-based crews have also done while preparing to return to the air. That includes putting pilots and flight engineers through a specific return-to-flight simulator syllabus, Capt. Paul Danielson, a flight commander and Osprey pilot with the Cannon-based 20th Special Operations Squadron, told Air Force Times.

Cannon-based maintainers continued sustainment necessary on the CV-22s during the stand down and were trained on maintenance protocols directed by NAVAIR to return to fly, 20th Special Operations Maintenance Squadron Commander Maj. Shelby Olivera said, adding that they’re also completing rigorous inspections. Squadrons are progressing through those protocols based on aircraft maintenance needs and personnel experience levels, she said.

As the 20th Special Operations Squadron focuses on reaching basic proficiency, the unit is first focusing on getting flight instructors back in the air. Pilots and maintainers look are looking forward to getting Ospreys flying once again, Danielson and Olivera said.

“The morale of the squadron, I think, has gone up just seeing people fly,” Danielson said. “There’s also a good balance of understanding from the the crews that aren’t flying, understanding that the leadership is doing what is best just ensure safety moving forward.”

Courtney Mabeus-Brown is the senior reporter at Air Force Times. She is an award-winning journalist who previously covered the military for Navy Times and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., where she first set foot on an aircraft carrier. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy and more.

驻日美军第353特种作战联队的机组人员于周二再次开始驾驶CV-22“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机飞行。此前七个月，该型飞机在一次训练任务中坠毁，机上八名空军人员全部遇难。

空军在一份新闻稿中表示，恢复飞行采取了“多阶段”方法，以确保机组人员的准备就绪，并遵循“一丝不苟和数据驱动的方法”，其中包括制定额外的安全控制措施。

第21特种作战中队指挥官马修·戴维斯中校在一份声明中表示：“我们始终坚定不移地致力于确保操作我们飞机的官兵以及基地和日本境内所有人员的安全。我们认真对待这些安全缓解措施，只有在对这些措施、执行这些措施的维护专业人员以及驾驶飞机的专业人员充满信心的情况下，我们才会让这架飞机飞行。”

美国军方表示，预计其超过400架的“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机至少要到2025年中期才能恢复全面飞行作业。负责监管该型飞机的联合项目办公室——海军航空系统司令部，在为期三个月的停飞期结束后，于3月份开始允许“鱼鹰”复飞，但附加了一些限制条件。

鱼鹰式倾转旋翼机既能像飞机一样飞行，又能像直升机一样起降。其垂直起降能力使其适用于航母着陆以及在艰苦环境下执行特种作战任务。这款备受争议的飞机自二十多年前投入特种作战以来，已发生多起致命坠机事故，仅在过去两年中，就有四起事故导致20名军人丧生。

由于一系列“离合器接合困难”问题，军方在2022年和2023年两次停飞了“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机。这些问题是由于连接“鱼鹰”发动机和传动齿轮箱的输入轴组件磨损过早造成的。重新设计的离合器预计将于2025年中期开始测试并投入使用。此外，振动传感系统升级的测试也在进行中，旨在识别需要更换的部件；传动齿轮箱小齿轮轴承的重新设计也正在等待生产和安装。

军方表示，11月29日高达22号的坠毁是由于鱼鹰运输机此前从未出现过的材料故障造成的。对该事故的调查已接近尾声。

拥有数百架鱼鹰倾转旋翼机的美国海军陆战队，曾于上周在瑞典与第24海军陆战队远征部队共同参与“波罗的海行动”演习。该部队还曾驾驶鱼鹰从地中海的“黄蜂”号两栖攻击舰上起飞进行飞行作业。而拥有约30架鱼鹰倾转旋翼机的美国海军，目前被禁止将其用于航母支援任务，并且被禁止在距离可紧急降落的机场超过30分钟航程的范围内飞行。

美国空军拥有约50架“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机。第353特种作战联队恢复飞行的同时，驻扎在新墨西哥州坎农空军基地的第27特种作战联队的机组人员也已根据飞机可用情况恢复了有限的飞行任务。此前，他们花了数月时间进行模拟器训练，以保持飞行技能。驻日部队的机组人员也进行了类似的训练，为重返蓝天做准备。驻坎农空军基地的第20特种作战中队飞行指挥官兼“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机飞行员保罗·丹尼尔森上尉告诉《空军时报》，这包括让飞行员和飞行工程师参加专门的复飞模拟器课程。

第20特种作战维护中队指挥官谢尔比·奥利维拉少校表示，驻扎在坎农基地的维护人员在CV-22停飞期间继续进行必要的维护工作，并接受了海军航空系统司令部（NAVAIR）制定的维护规程培训，以便恢复飞行。她补充说，他们还在进行严格的检查。她还表示，各中队正根据飞机维护需求和人员经验水平逐步执行这些规程。

第20特种作战中队目前正集中精力恢复基本飞行技能，首要任务是让飞行教官重返蓝天。丹尼尔森和奥利维拉表示，飞行员和维护人员都盼望着鱼鹰倾转旋翼机能够再次翱翔蓝天。

丹尼尔森说：“我认为，看到有人飞行，中队的士气就提升了。同时，那些没有飞行任务的机组人员也表示理解，他们明白领导层正在尽一切努力确保未来的安全。”

考特尼·马布斯-布朗是《空军时报》的资深记者。她是一位屡获殊荣的记者，此前曾为《海军时报》和弗吉尼亚州诺福克的《弗吉尼亚人报》报道军事新闻，并在那里首次登上航空母舰。她的作品也曾发表在《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》、《外交政策》等刊物上。