Marine Corps receives its final MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft

The last MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was delivered to the Marine Corps on Tuesday, nearly two decades after it joined the service in 2007.

The final Osprey was received by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.

The 359th MV-22 completes the program of record, and no new Ospreys will be built for the Corps. It will, however, be part of Marine operations through 2055, a timeline that will require future modernization.

“We cannot assume that because the MV-22B transformed Marine aviation once, its evolution is complete,” Lt. Gen. William Swan, deputy commandant for aviation, said in a statement. “It is our responsibility to carry this legacy forward and ensure this aircraft remains ready, relevant, safe and lethal for the fight ahead.”

The first flight of the V-22 Osprey was in 1989, but the aircraft would not be approved for operations until 2007 because of design changes and mishaps during development.

The Marine Corps Ospreys have logged more than 686,500 flight hours while deploying 114 times since 2007, including combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, the service said Tuesday.

A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft prepares to land during a mass casualty training event at Mount Bundy Training Area in Northern Territory, Australia, July 25, 2026. (Grant Schirmer/U.S. Marine Corps)

The aircraft can take off and land vertically, enabling it to carry up to 24 troops between ships and land. In horizontal flight, it has a cruising speed of 255 knots with a service ceiling of 25,000 feet. Once landed, its wings can rotate and fold horizontally, making storage easier on an aircraft carrier and assault ships.

Swan praised the Osprey as a revolutionary tool for commanders.

“It fundamentally changed the way the Marine Air-Ground Task Force generates combat power,” Swan said. “It provides commanders with decision space that only speed and reach can provide, connecting ships, bases and distributed forces in ways previous generations could only imagine. Today, Marine commanders build operations around the assumption that the MV-22B will be there.”

The Department of the Navy manages a V-22 Joint Program Office for all military services. Three variants are built — one each for the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).

A Congressional Research Service report from September 2025 said the Defense Department had approved the purchase of 360 V-22s for the Marines, 53 for the Navy, and 56 for the Air Force. Japan has purchased 17 Ospreys.

The CRS report says the Pentagon plans to shut the production line by the 2028 fiscal year.

The Osprey has had a record of fatal crashes dating back to its development.

As of July 2025, 65 people have died in mishaps involving V-22 aircraft, according to the Congressional Research Service. Of those killed, 30 died before the aircraft was declared operational in 2007 and 35 died since 2007. Of the deaths since 2007, 23 occurred in Marine aircraft and 12 in Air Force aircraft.

The CRS report said that since 2022, V-22s have been involved in four fatal mishaps, killing 20 service members and injuring another 20. In at least two of the incidents, investigations found component failures in the drive system to be the cause.

The Navy temporarily halted V-22 operations, then lifted the restrictions in 2024, with the requirement that Ospreys fly no farther than 30 minutes from a landing site.

Congress held hearings in 2024 about the safety of V-22 variants.

The CRS report said that between 2014 and 2025, MV-22s have had a mishap rate of 2.56 per 100,000 hours of operation, just below the overall Marine Corps rate of 2.67. In comparison, the CH-53E Super Stallion has an accident rate of 5.49 per 100,000 hours.

The Air Force, which operates the CV-22 variant, recorded an accident rate of 11.55 per 100,000 hours, nearly 10 times the overall rate of 1.65 for all Air Force rotary aircraft. CRS said the Navy had no record of any mishaps involving its variant of the V-22.

The Marines have said modernization efforts for the Osprey include reducing maintenance hours, standardizing aircraft configurations, and adding safety and sustainability components.