Military aircraft production lines rarely reopen once closed. The C-2 was an exception. By the early 1980s the original C-2As were tired after years of catapult launches and arrested landings, and the Navy needed a replacement. Rather than design a new aircraft, it ordered more Greyhounds. Because the E-2 Hawkeye was still in production, Grumman could build new C-2s using the same wings, engines and many systems.

The result was the C-2A(R), with improved avionics, a stronger airframe and better corrosion protection. NAVAIR’s standard aircraft characteristics for the reprocured aircraft date from 1984, and 39 were delivered between 1985 and 1989. They were later fitted with new eight-blade propellers, glass-cockpit and navigation upgrades and further life extensions, which allowed them to fly far longer than originally planned.

That longevity was both a triumph and a problem. By the 2010s the C-2A(R)s were themselves more than thirty years old, and the Navy had to choose between another life extension, a new version of the Greyhound based on the E-2D, or a different aircraft altogether. It chose the tiltrotor.

In 2015 the Navy announced that a variant of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey would replace the Greyhound. The CMV-22B has a larger fuel capacity than the Marine Corps MV-22 and, unlike the C-2, can land on ships other than carriers. The first was delivered in June 2020 and the type achieved initial operating capability in December 2021, according to Bell.

The transition was gradual. The Greyhound’s great advantage was its cabin, which could carry cargo the Osprey cannot, and its ability to fly higher and faster on long transits. The CMV-22B’s advantage was flexibility. As more Ospreys arrived, the C-2 squadrons stood down detachments one by one. VRC-40 at Norfolk, the last Greyhound squadron, flew the final operational carrier landings in mid-2026, aboard USS Nimitz, and the last flight, from Norfolk to Pensacola, was reported on 28 July 2026. The aircraft, BuNo 162159, was handed to the National Naval Aviation Museum.

For passengers, a COD flight was memorable. The cabin was noisy, with few windows. Passengers wore a cranial helmet, ear protection and a flotation vest, and sat facing the tail so that the deceleration of the arrested landing would press them back into the seat rather than throw them forward. The crew chief would signal the landing, and in a couple of seconds the aircraft went from about 100 knots to a standstill. The catapult launch on departure was the reverse: a violent push from behind followed by sudden calm.

For the crew of two pilots and two loadmasters, the C-2 was a demanding aircraft. It was large for a carrier aircraft, with a wide wingspan and limited clearance on deck, and it often flew long overwater legs at night or in poor weather. Its pilots qualified for carrier landings like fighter pilots, and many went on to fly airliners or other transports after their naval careers.

• YC-2A: prototypes converted from E-2 airframes, first flown in 1964.
• C-2A: original production version, about 17 to 19 built, extended under a 1973 service life extension programme.
• C-2A(R): reprocured version with improved systems and airframe, 39 built from 1985, later fitted with eight-blade propellers and upgraded avionics.

The Navy does not publish a simple cost per flight hour for the Greyhound, and figures depend heavily on what is counted. Its two T56 turboprops are economical by military standards, but carrier operations are hard on airframes, and an ageing fleet with a small number of aircraft required intensive maintenance. Cost was one of the reasons the Navy chose a common V-22 variant over a new Greyhound: sharing logistics with the Marine Corps and Air Force Ospreys promised savings over decades. An hourly figure in the region of US$10,000 to 20,000 is a fair estimate rather than an official number.