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The C-2 Greyhound has been transporting cargo and passengers to aircraft carriers at sea for over 50 years. See how it works and why it is being retired.
Landing a plane loaded on the deck of a moving ship in the middle of the ocean is considered one of the most demanding tasks in military aviation. This is exactly what the C-2 Greyhound does — for over 50 years. The United States Navy’s twin-engine aircraft was developed for a very specific function: to carry heavy cargo, mail, and passengers directly to operating aircraft carriers, without these ships needing to return to a port.
According to data from the U.S. Navy, this mission — called Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) — is considered essential both for the maintenance of combat aircraft and for crew morale.
From 240 km/h to zero in two seconds: the engineering behind the landing
Upon touching the deck, the C-2 Greyhound needs to brake abruptly and in a controlled manner. For this, the aircraft is equipped with a metal hook on the tail that catches onto arresting cables installed on the aircraft carrier’s deck, stopping the plane in just two seconds — going from 240 km/h to a complete stop. The landing gear was designed to absorb impacts that would be destructive in civilian planes.
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During takeoff, the process is equally extreme: without a long enough runway to gain speed on its own, the plane relies on the ship’s steam catapult, which launches it into the air with high G-force in fractions of a second.
Versatile cargo and wings that fold to save space
Space on an aircraft carrier is extremely limited. Therefore, right after landing, the Greyhound’s wings hydraulically fold over the fuselage, significantly reducing the area the aircraft occupies on the deck and freeing up space for combat jets.
The rear compartment, accessed by a ramp, was designed to receive different types of cargo with agility. Among the items the plane can transport are:
- Complete engines for combat aircraft
- Critical spare parts for fighter maintenance
- Medical supplies and emergency materials
- Up to 26 passengers or 12 patients on stretchers
- Load of up to 4,536 kg (10,000 pounds)
The rear ramp can also be opened during flight for supply drops, but its everyday use occurs on the deck, where the cargo is removed by forklifts in minutes — ensuring the Greyhound clears the space quickly so as not to interfere with ship operations.
Complete specifications of the C-2A Greyhound
The data below corresponds to the C-2A Reacquired version, according to official specifications from the US Navy:
| Data | Value |
| Crew | 2 pilots + 2 loadmasters |
| Length | 17.32 m |
| Wingspan | 24.56 m |
| Height | 4.839 m |
| Empty | 15,307 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | 27,216 kg |
| Engines | 2× Allison T56-A-425 (3,400 kW each) |
| Propellers | UTC Aerospace NP2000 — 8 blades |
| Maximum speed | 635 km/h at 3,658 m altitude |
| Cruise speed | 465 km/h at 8,748 m altitude |
| Range with maximum load | 2,400 km |
| Range (ferry / no load) | 3,700 km |
| Service ceiling | 10,200 m |
| Rate of climb | 19 m/s at sea level |
After 50 years, the C-2 Greyhound makes way for the CMV-22B Osprey
With more than five decades of uninterrupted operations, the Greyhound is being gradually retired and replaced by the CMV-22B Osprey, a hybrid technology aircraft that takes off vertically like a helicopter and cruises long distances like a conventional plane — a configuration called tiltrotor.
The main advantage of the Osprey in this transition is operational: unlike the Greyhound, it does not rely on steam catapults or the aircraft carrier’s arresting cables to land, which simplifies deck operations and reduces pressure on the ship’s infrastructure.
Source: BM&C News, Northrop Grumman and U.S Navy
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