The 2025 Marine Aviation Plan as originally reported by FlightGlobal shows the US Marines are committed to making the V-22 Osprey safer to fly. Several improvements are in the works for the V-22 Osprey, such as an Osprey Drive System Safety and Health Instrumentation to advise better aircrew of potential issues, better steel used in the replacing proprietor gearboxes (PRGB), and a redesigned Input Quill Assembly (IQA) to prevent future hard clutch engagements that can cause V-22s to lose power.
Multi-point investment plan “To enhance aircraft safety”
As per the 2025 Marine Aviation Plan, the US Marines are leading efforts in pursuing several improvements to the proprotor gearbox “To enhance aircraft safety and improve component reliability and durability.” As regular readers may recall, Simple Flying has covered recent V-22 Osprey crashes arising from gearbox issues .
Related A Closer Look At The V-22 Osprey’s Tragic History & Defective Parts We take a look at the V-22 Osprey’s role and how defective parts are creating a tragic history.
Additionally, Simple Flying did a recent explainer into the gearbox issue :
Related Explained: What Is Wrong With The V-22 Osprey’s Gearbox? Is the V-22 Osprey’s gearbox simply high maintenance or a ticking mechanical bomb? Incidents of emergency landings and fatal accidents raise urgent qu
Basically, the V-22’s gearbox, which must transfer jet turbine power to proprotors that tilt up for vertical flight and transition horizontally for faster horizontal flight, has had documented structural issues with its gearbox and clutch. Gears have been found broken, metal chips have come off the proprotor gearboxes and such.
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NAVAIR – short for Naval Air Systems Command – has a plan to build back better all V-22 variants – not just the Marines’ MV-22B flying over the Super Bowl this Sunday . One can see a few photos from Friday’s rehearsal:
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Multi-point plan in bullet-point
With that, let’s get to the NAVAIR plan. The NAVAIR plan includes:
Osprey Drive System Safety and Health Instrumentation (ODSSHI): The new instruments will better alert pilots and maintenance personnel on the integrity of the V-22 Osprey’s PRGBs and drive trains. The aim is to replace parts before they fail by tracking vibration.
The new instruments will better alert pilots and maintenance personnel on the integrity of the V-22 Osprey’s PRGBs and drive trains. The aim is to replace parts before they fail by tracking vibration. Stronger triple-melt steel for the X-53 Proprotor Gearbox: As first reported by The Air Current, the problematic X-53 alloy developed inclusions or an impurity during the creation of the steel alloy weakening the steel alloy. Once that steel develops inclusions, the steel can weaken and become defective as happened with a US Air Force Special Operations CV-22B crash in November 2023. Triple-melt steel that reduces the risk of inclusions by 85% according to The Air Current will be incorporated in depots starting in “the summer of 2025”.
As first reported by The Air Current, the problematic X-53 alloy developed inclusions or an impurity during the creation of the steel alloy weakening the steel alloy. Once that steel develops inclusions, the steel can weaken and become defective as happened with a US Air Force Special Operations CV-22B crash in November 2023. Triple-melt steel that reduces the risk of inclusions by 85% according to The Air Current will be incorporated in depots starting in “the summer of 2025”. Addressing Hard Clutch Engagements with redesigned Input Quill Assembly: Yes, replacing the Input Quill Assembly is part of the plan to prevent future crashes. The Input Quill Assembly is currently being replaced with the previous design every 800 flight hours as a result – and a new design is in the works of the key gears connecting the turboprop engines to the proprotors. This will stop hard clutch engagements, like what brought down Swift 11 on June 8, 2022, and profiled by Simple Flying. Past hard clutch engagements have led to strict flight guidelines, but the guidelines were updated in December 2025. Below are two reference graphics from a 2024 United States Air Force crash report: Close
Yes, replacing the Input Quill Assembly is part of the plan to prevent future crashes. The Input Quill Assembly is currently being replaced with the previous design every 800 flight hours as a result – and a new design is in the works of the key gears connecting the turboprop engines to the proprotors. This will stop hard clutch engagements, like what brought down Swift 11 on June 8, 2022, and profiled by Simple Flying. Past hard clutch engagements have led to strict flight guidelines, but the guidelines were updated in December 2025. Below are two reference graphics from a 2024 United States Air Force crash report: Quoting the 2025 Marine Aviation Plan: “ Tailored Nacelle Improvements (TNI): Enhances reliability and maintainability of the airframe through modernization of the Nacelle wiring material, harness design and connectors.”
Enhances reliability and maintainability of the airframe through modernization of the Nacelle wiring material, harness design and connectors.” “Renewed V-22 Aircraft Modernization Plan (ReVAMP): ReVAMP will ensure platform relevance until the end of its service life and the development and fielding of the Next Generation Assault Support (NGAS) aircraft.”
ReVAMP will ensure platform relevance until the end of its service life and the development and fielding of the Next Generation Assault Support (NGAS) aircraft.” There are also plans to improve the V-22 avionics , like with the flight control computer needing a modern processor to improve safety plus flight operations in low visibility, V-22 Enhanced Cockpit Technology Replacement (VeCToR), and more such work such as enhanced cockpit displays.
, like with the flight control computer needing a modern processor to improve safety plus flight operations in low visibility, V-22 Enhanced Cockpit Technology Replacement (VeCToR), and more such work such as enhanced cockpit displays. Finally, as per a May 1, 2024 Defense News report by Megan Eckstein, not just did Eckstein document some of the nacelle and cockpit improvements but also a proposal to possibly replace the V-22’s wings and nacelles.
Finally, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported on February 6 that these improvements are for all V-22 Ospreys regardless of variant. See, NAVAIR runs the V-22 Joint Program Office, PMA-275. Therefore, NAVAIR writes advisories, bulletins, and manuals on best practices for all the world’s V-22 maintainers and pilots. Not just VMM-364 Purple Foxes’ maintainers pictured below who
US Marines Plan Mechanical Improvements To V-22 Osprey
