The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The V-22 is operated by the United States and Japan, and is not only a new aircraft design, but a new type of aircraft that entered service in the 2000s, a tiltrotor compared to fixed wing and helicopter designs. The V-22 first flew in 1989 and after a long development was fielded in 2007. The design combines the vertical takeoff ability of a helicopter with the range of a fixed-wing airplane.
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma is a United States Marine Corps air station in Arizona. It is the home of multiple squadrons of F-35B Lightning IIs of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1), Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) and Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401), an air combat adversary squadron of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing of the Marine Corps Reserve. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants, including asbestos.
Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron responsible for the transportation of the president and vice president of the United States, heads of state, Department of Defense officials, and other VIPs as directed by the Marine Corps and White House Military Office. A Marine helicopter with the president aboard uses the call sign "Marine One". Previously, HMX-1 was also tasked with operational test and evaluation (OT&E). This task was reassigned to VMX-1 in Yuma, Arizona; since the contract award of the new presidential helicopter in 2014 to Sikorsky Aircraft, however, HMX-1 has assumed the temporary role of OT&E for this platform, because of its unique nature and mission. The VH-92A first flew in 2017 and became operational in 2024. Nicknamed "Nighthawks", HMX-1 is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, and maintains detachments at Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in Washington, D.C., and Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility in Maryland.
The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States.
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activated in 1940, the wing has seen heavy combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 (VMM-161) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron that operates the MV-22 Osprey. The squadron, known as the "Greyhawks", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The squadron has the distinction of being the first helicopter transport squadron in the world and regularly utilizes the phrase "The First, The Best".
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22B Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Thunder Chickens", is based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 774 (VMM-774) is a United States Marine Corps medium tiltrotor squadron consisting of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Wild Goose", is a United States Marine Corps Reserve unit based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 49 (MAG-49) and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264 (VMM-264) was a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron consisting of MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft. The squadron, known as the "Black Knights", was based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, and normally fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 26 (MAG-26) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. They were the last east coast CH-46 Sea Knight squadron to transition to the Osprey. VMM-264 was decommissioned on 24 June 2020.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 764 (VMM-764) is a United States Marine Corps Reserve squadron consisting of MV-22B Ospreys. The squadron, known as "Moonlight," is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 41 (MAG-41) and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 is an aviation ground support unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are based out of Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. The squadron, nicknamed "The Untouchables," falls under the command of Marine Wing Support Group 27 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Marine Aircraft Group 41 (MAG-41) is a United States Marine Corps reserve aviation unit based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas that is currently composed of one F/A-18C squadron, one KC-130J squadron, one C-40 squadron, two Northrop F-5 aggressor squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, one Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron at MCAS Camp Pendleton, one MV-22B squadron based at MCAS Miramar, one aviation logistics squadron and two wing support squadrons with multiple detachments throughout the United States.
Marine Aircraft Group 49 is a United States Marine Corps Reserve aviation unit based at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey that is currently composed of squadrons that fly the MV-22B, CH-53E, AH-1Z, UH-1Y, UC-35D and UC-12F/W aircraft as well as an Aviation Logistics Squadron and Wing Support Squadron.
The United States Marine Corps Aviation (USMCA) is the aircraft arm of the United States Marine Corps. Aviation units within the Marine Corps are assigned to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, as the aviation combat element, by providing six functions: assault support, antiair warfare, close air support, electronic warfare, control of aircraft and missiles, and aerial reconnaissance. The Corps operates rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft mainly to provide transport and close air support to its ground forces. Other aircraft types are also used in a variety of support and special-purpose roles. All Marine Corps aviation falls under the influence of the Deputy Commandant for Aviation, whose job is to advise the Commandant of the Marine Corps in all matters relating to aviation, especially acquisition of new assets, conversions of current aircraft, maintenance, operation, and command.
In the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element (ACE) is the aviation component of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The ACE is task organized to perform the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of MAGTF operations. The ACE is led by an aviation headquarters which employs rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft in conjunction with command and control, maintenance and engineering units.
The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron TWO ONE (HX-21) "Blackjack" is a U.S. Navy aircraft squadron located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. As part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD), Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL), HX-21 is responsible for the Developmental Test and Evaluation of Navy and Marine Corps rotary-wing/tilt-rotor aircraft, airborne systems, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in support of acquisition decisions that improve the Navy and Marine Corps' war fighting capability. Additionally, HX-21 tests and evaluates new mission systems to integrate legacy aircraft into the constantly evolving fighting force.
Glenn Michael Walters is a retired United States Marine Corps General, who served as the 34th Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2016 to 2018. He was appointed as the 20th President of his alma mater, The Citadel, on April 12, 2018.
