House Armed Services Committee Grills Military Leaders on V-22 Osprey Safety as Emergency Landings Continue
Why it matters
The V-22 Osprey — the military's only operational tiltrotor aircraft — remains at risk of catastrophic failure even as the Pentagon races to implement fixes, some of which won't be complete until the 2030s. The House Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee held a V-22 program update hearing on February 10, 2026, at the Rayburn House Office Building, pressing Navy and Marine Corps leaders on why 20 service members have died in V-22 crashes since 2022 — and why known gearbox failures went unaddressed for a decade. The hearing landed days after another Osprey made an emergency landing due to a cracked component, undercutting the military's assurances that corrective actions are on track.
The big picture
This V-22 congressional hearing in 2026 was triggered by the December 2025 release of two damning reports. NAVAIR's own Comprehensive Review — initiated after three fatal crashes killed 12 service members in 18 months — reaffirmed V-22 airworthiness but outlined 32 safety and readiness recommendations. Simultaneously, the GAO published a report finding that the V-22 has "the oldest age of unresolved catastrophic system safety risk" among comparable military platforms.
The numbers are stark. The joint force experienced 18 serious non-combat Osprey accidents in fiscal 2023 and 2024, with rates between 36 percent and 90 percent above historical averages. A Navy investigation found that Osprey safety issues were allowed to grow for years, with the three services flying the aircraft failing to routinely share safety data.
Production of the V-22 ended in early 2025 when the Defense Contract Management Agency accepted the final aircraft. The military plans to fly its fleet of over 400 Ospreys for at least 30 more years, making sustainment and safety the defining challenge. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has made readiness a top priority — but the V-22's persistent problems sit in direct tension with that goal.
What they're saying
Three witnesses testified before the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS-1), with Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) serving as ranking member.
Vice Adm. John Dougherty, Commander of Naval Air Systems Command, defended the program's trajectory, calling the V-22 "a unique and indispensable capability for our nation's armed forces." He reported that 24 of 32 recommendations from the comprehensive review are closed, with the remainder on track. He noted the Navy's mission capable rate sits at roughly 40%, with the Marine Corps at approximately 50% — both below targets.
Brig. Gen. David Walsh, Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs, acknowledged the fleet has made "almost 250 hardware and software improvements" over 20 years of operations but conceded that supply chain challenges and drivetrain reliability remain active concerns. A redesigned input quill assembly — meant to eliminate dangerous hard clutch engagements — is not expected to reach the fleet until late 2027.
Diana Moldafsky, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the GAO, provided the independent counterweight. Her office's report found that the services lacked a clear oversight structure for resolving known safety risks and that information sharing between the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force was insufficient. The GAO recommended the Secretary of Defense establish an oversight framework with "clearly defined roles and responsibilities."
Courtney drew a pointed comparison to the 2017 USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain collisions, suggesting Congress may need to legislatively codify safety reforms — as the late Senator John McCain did for Navy surface fleet readiness — rather than rely on voluntary compliance.
Political stakes
The V-22 Osprey program sits at an uncomfortable intersection for the Trump administration. Hegseth's emphasis on military lethality and readiness is undercut every time an Osprey makes an emergency landing or a readiness report shows sub-50% mission capable rates. With some fixes stretching into the 2030s, the administration is vulnerable to charges of insufficient urgency.
Gold Star families have been a persistent force. Families of Marines killed in V-22 crashes demanded answers as Pentagon officials testified before Congress, and a congressional probe into V-22 safety stalled for nearly a year, fueling frustration. Boeing Co., the V-22's co-manufacturer, spent $2.5 million on lobbying in Q4 2024 alone and has made contributions to members on the Armed Services Committee, adding a layer of industry influence to the oversight dynamic.
The other side
Not everyone agrees the V-22's safety record warrants alarm. Defense analysts at Second Line of Defense argued the GAO's framing "draws attention to real mishaps and genuine concerns, but its framing, methods, and omissions risk" creating a misleading picture. They contend the V-22's long-term mishap record "sits near the middle of U.S. military aviation, not as a statistical outlier." Military witnesses also stressed that improved proprotor gearbox components — using triple melt steel — reduce the probability of gearbox failure by an order of magnitude.
What's next
The hearing's findings feed directly into the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House Armed Services Committee will mark up later this year. Expect potential provisions mandating:
- Reporting requirements on V-22 safety milestones
- Directed funding for specific safety modifications
- Requirements for formalized inter-service coordination
- Possible operational restrictions until benchmarks are met
The GAO's five recommendations remain open and will be tracked through follow-up oversight. Dougherty reports monthly to the Secretary of the Navy on progress — a cadence Congress will be watching closely.
The bottom line
Twenty service members are dead, accident rates are spiking, and the military's primary fixes won't arrive for years — yet the Pentagon has no replacement for an aircraft it plans to fly into the 2050s.