US Navy declares IOC with CMV-22B Osprey

The US Navy (USN) has publicly declared that initial operational capability (IOC) has been reached with its CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The milestone was formally declared on December 14 last year, but the public declaration of IOC was made following the successful conclusion on February 17 of the aircraft’s maiden deployment, which saw it deployed to the Pacific theatre with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 and the carrier strike group (CSG) attached to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson