Despite the little-known acronym, it is a variant of transporting personnel and cargo on the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor from Bell and Boeing. The first of 48  aircraft ordered was delivered by the two manufacturers on Monday in Amarillo.

The CMV-22B brings expanded capabilities not only to the carrier onboard delivery mission, but to the high-end fight,” said U.S. Navy Captain Dewon Chaney, Commodore, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing. “Weare anxious to get it to the fleet and show off  its immense capabilities and agile flexibility.”

After flying for the first time in December,  the CMV-22B will now be allocated at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego  and Naval Air Station Norfolk. To speed up training, members of the U.S. Navy trained  with the U.S. Marine Corps, which have operated the Osprey since 2007.

In addition to being able to take off and land vertically, Osprey can also carry 6,000 pounds  over a distance of 1,150 miles. According to Bell and Boeing, it is the only onboard  aircraft capable of taking engine components from the F-35C fighter directly to the flight deck.

The C-2 Greyhound was introduced in the U.S. Navy in 1966 to replace the C-1 Trader,  a variant of the well-known anti-submarine aircraft S-2 Tracker. Designed by Grumman, the C-2 was an adaptation of the E-2 Hawkeye radar aircraft with  a wider fuselage to accommodate 26 passengers or 10,000 pounds of cargo.

In 1984, the U.S. Navy placed a new order for the turboprop but with improvements in avionics  and airframe and named C-2A. Grumman delivered 39 units by 1990 that replaced the original C-2As and  expanded the aircraft’s fleet. In the mid-2000s, 36 Greyhound aircraft underwent a life extension  program, in addition to receiving a glass cockpit.

The most visible modification, however, was the adoption of a set of propellers with eight blades. The reform made it possible for the C-2A to fly  until 2027, but the Navy decided to accelerate its replacement with Osprey over the next four years.

A total of 39 new C-2A aircraft were ordered in 1984 and they lasted until 1987 when a new model named the reprocured C-2A orC-2A(R) replaced the older model. The C-2 Greyhound is a high-wing carrier on-board delivery (COD) aircraft.”

Northrop Grumman is currently working on the resupply of the upgraded C-2A version. In November 2008, the company also obtained a$37m contract for the maintenance, logistics  and aviation administration services over five years for the C-2A fleet assigned to air test and  evaluation squadron 20 (VX-20) at Patuxent River.Greyhound service life extension programme A service life extension programme is beingcarried out to improve the operating service life of the procured aircraft, achieving a viable and economically maintainable platform until it is replaced.

The programme will increase its service life from 15,020 to 36,000 landings and from 10,000 to 15,000 flight hours. The SLEP involves structural enhancements to the centre wing,  an aircraft rewire, a new propeller system and improvement of the avionics systems.