A Retired H-60 Pilots Personal Take on the Untapped Potential of the CMV-22B

?Full disclosure, I am a retired H-60 Bubba working for Bell and intimately involved in the V-22 program. These are my personal views as I ruminate on the potential of the V-22 now that the Navy has these a/c as well. As an H-60 guy who flew the F and H models, I remember the saying “jack of all trades - expert at none” being tossed around. It makes me think a lot about where the VRM Community is, is headed, or could be headed. With the deployment of the Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 Det 1 in 2021 and now Det 2, the stand-up of the "VRM Community" is well underway.?As the VRM community begins to project power from the sea, the shore establishment has reached a major milestone. Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 50 has celebrated a significant achievement with its “safe-for-flight” certification.

?The CMV-22B will leverage decades of operational and combat experience by both the USAF and USMC, including over 600,000 flight hours flown by both services. The Navy variant will be capable of transporting up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and/or personnel and have a range of over 1,150 nautical miles. The V-22's ability to take off and land vertically like a traditional helicopter, as well as its' capability to make short-takeoff-and-landings, provide the Strike Group Commander with a more versatile and flexible aircraft than the C-2 or the H-60. ?The CNO's Navigation Plan 2020 and the Tri-Service Maritime Strategy make it clear that the Navy will be involved in a long-term competition for decades to come. If the Naval Services are going to be primarily concerned with fighting and winning a high-end fight in a distributed maritime and expeditionary operating environment, it is likely that the Navy will have to use the CMV for more than just moving "mail, pax, and cargo", as was the traditional Carrier on Board Delivery, or COD mission of the C-2 Greyhound – the a/c the CMV replaced.??As with the fielding of any new weapon system, there is always a propensity to undertake a "crawl - walk - run" mentality. We have all lived it and it makes sense. The question for the CMV community and the Navy will be how long before the CMV hit its' stride and starts running. With a much smaller Program of Record, the Navy will need to act quickly and decisively if they decide they want or need more CMVs because they figure out this platform can take on some additional mission-sets that will likely be required to fight and win in a "Near-Peer" competition in the future. Let’s briefly take a look at a few potential missions in my humble opinion.

Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)

?The speed and extended coverage of the CMV coupled with its’ mobility and ability to concentrate and respond rapidly could provide Strike Group and Joint Force Commanders the operational reach needed to quickly seize and maintain the initiative. The CMV is far more efficient than a traditional rotary wing aircraft like the H-60S and could provide Commanders with a faster recovery of injured aircrews, which would significantly increase survivability rate. The aerial refueling capability also increases flexibility and decreases mission complexity, as it would decrease or potentially eliminate surface ship support requirements. The CMV-22’s faster recovery reduces the likelihood that an adversary can “rescue” downed aircrews before friendly forces arrive.?The USAF has clearly demonstrated the V-22 effectiveness in this role.

Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW)

?The CMV's speed and endurance for long-range tactical support and dynamic employment capabilities for both land and sea-based operations on short notice could be a potential game-changer for ASuW Warfare Commanders.? (I am temporarily suspending wardroom fines for overuse of the term “game changer”) The integration of the CMV into the Navy Tactical Grid would significantly increase the number of contacts. With its’ networks and data links, the CMV-22B expands awareness beyond a conventional helicopter’s capability, creating a more informed common operating picture and improving the Navy, and even Joint Force, tactical grid. The CMV-22 improves economy of force by reducing ship and helicopter support requirements. ASuW mission would be far more successful because of CMV-22 endurance. Advanced capabilities like the FORD Class CVN, JSF, ESB and EPF-14 are sub-optimized without a fast, long-range, rotary wing aircraft capability.

Casualty Evacuation (CASEVAC)

?The CMV's multi-mission flexibility and ability to be dynamically re-tasked from intra-theater aerial logistics to CASEVAC to long-range patient movement will be unmatched. It has been decades since the Navy has faced the possibility of a ship seriously damaged or destroyed at sea and it is something the Navy Staff surely must consider. The ability to provide en route care of patients and rapid patient movement will save lives. Casualty evacuations without CMV-22Bs will take days vice hours to move injured from damaged ship to sea or shore-based hospitals. The CMV-22B provides faster and smoother patient travel compared to ship transit. The ability to move a critically injured patient off the CVN can easily be imagined. The C-2 does not normally operate at night and a "CAT-shot" or an arrested landing of a seriously wounded or injured Sailor or Marine is a non-starter. ?

This basic introduction to future CMV mission-sets is by no means an all-inclusive list and will require a significant amount of intellectual, operational, and financial resources.?What we do know is this: the CMV-22B is here and here to stay. Strike Group Commanders are only just beginning to understand exactly what the CMV brings to the fight. It is only a matter of time before the Navy, and possibly even Joint Force and Combatant Commanders, realizes exactly what a force multiplier the CMV-22B will be.?If the Navy decides that the CMV can do more than just deliver "mail - pax - and cargo", the Navy will need to make sure the CMV community is not only properly manned, trained and equipped, but seamlessly integrated into the Carrier Air Wing and provided the training and tactical doctrine to be successful in any future conflict. If we make them the jack of all trades, let's take this seriously enough to make them experts at all. Because if things get sporty out west, we sure will need these bubbas on the first team.