Carrier onboard delivery
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is how carrier-based aircraft move people, mail, supplies, and priority parts from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Navies use different types of aircraft for COD, including helicopters and tiltrotors.
Key COD aircraft in U.S. Navy history:
- TBM-3R: early seven-passenger COD, converted from the TBM-3 Avenger in the late 1950s.
- C-1A Trader: cargo version of the Grumman S-2 Tracker.
- C-2A Greyhound: cargo variant of the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye; has been the Navy’s primary COD since the 1960s.
- US-3A Viking: a small number used from the 1980s to the mid-1990s.
Other developments and tests:
- 2012-2013: MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft performed COD tests on the USS Nimitz to see if it could replace current COD planes.
- 2014: Lockheed Martin proposed refurbishing the S-3 Viking into a new C-3 COD aircraft with a wider fuselage but unchanged wings, tail, engines, and crew area; it would have about 2,400 nautical miles of range with a 10,000 lb payload.
- 2015: Navy signed an agreement to explore using 4 to 12 HV-22s for COD.
- 2016: The COD version was designated CMV-22B.
The Navy continues to pursue improvements for carrier logistics, with several aircraft and proposals aimed at increasing range and cargo capability.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:51 (CET).