Overview
- Two reports released December 12 by NAVAIR and the GAO conclude the joint V-22 program has not fully addressed long-standing safety risks and that key fixes will extend into the 2030s.
- Since 2022 the fleet has had 12 Class A flight mishaps, with four aircraft lost and 20 service members killed, which the Navy review links to accumulating risk from slow corrective action and uneven procedural compliance.
- As of mid-2025 the GAO cites Navy data showing 28 unresolved risks rated “catastrophic,” averaging roughly nine years old and exacerbated by inconsistent cross-service information sharing.
- NAVAIR traces the November 2023 fatal CV-22 crash to a catastrophic X‑53 proprotor gearbox pinion failure tied to alloy quality issues at Universal Stainless and flags ongoing hard clutch engagement events.
- NAVAIR recommends 32 actions, including proprotor gearbox retrofits such as X‑53 “triple melt” gears targeted by 2033 and installation of vibration monitoring, while operations continue under added restrictions and maintenance controls.