The Marine Corps is expanding its use of an artificial intelligence diagnostic and decision making tool as it works to improve readiness across its MV-22 Osprey fleet. The technology will be adopted by the Corps’ East Coast aviation squadrons following scrutiny from lawmakers over declining readiness rates.

Virtualitics, the company behind the tool, said its Iris platform will support all six stateside MV-22 squadrons assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. A seventh squadron will receive the capability when it returns from its current deployment.

The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, which covers the Marine Corps’ East Coast aviation squadrons, initially contracted with Virtualitics for readiness tools in 2025. The renewed contract expands Iris across the wing’s stateside Osprey force.

Virtualitics Chief Commercial Officer Rob Bocek told Military Times that Iris uses a group of AI agents working with frontier AI models. The system is designed to identify capability and readiness gaps before offering specific recommendations intended to improve outcomes.

Bocek said the models can be configured and tuned to address detailed and complex questions submitted through the system’s chat interface. According to him, that process generates more specific responses than those produced by a generic large language model.

The company’s technology was initially fielded with Air Force B-52 squadrons before expanding across the Air Force and into other military components. Virtualitics says the tools have already helped the Air Force save 50,000 labor hours through more efficient munitions storage.

Those calculations examined available storage space alongside safety considerations involving net explosive weight and packing density. The tools have also informed decisions about which weapons to deploy, presumably in support of Operation Epic Fury earlier this year, according to Bocek.

In one case described by Bocek, the system evaluated the quantity of a specific kinetic effector that needed to be fielded rapidly. It determined that the planned amount was insufficient, recommended another quantity and explained the reasoning behind that recommendation.

Bocek said the technology can also help leaders examine downstream effects from deploying particular capabilities to different parts of the world. That visibility can extend six months or one year into the future, giving decision makers a broader picture of potential consequences.

For the Marine Corps, improving Osprey mission capability rates is a clearly stated objective behind the adoption of Iris. Bocek said the platform will identify supply gaps, highlight possible efficiency improvements and provide a scheduling optimizer for units managing aircraft and sorties.

The scheduling component can help operators determine which aircraft should be assigned to a sortie during the next 48 hours. It also assesses how selecting particular tail numbers could affect later maintenance and support requirements.

The expansion arrives as the Osprey fleet continues operating under restrictions linked to a gearbox issue. Marine Corps Ospreys have remained in a limited operating status since 2023 because of the issue responsible for the fatal crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey that year.

Officials most recently said the platform would return to full flight operations by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, the fleet’s readiness figures have drawn direct attention from Congress as aircraft remain stuck away from the flightline.

During a congressional hearing in February, one lawmaker complained about the number of “hangar queens” in the Osprey fleet. The term referred to aircraft that never reach the flightline and consequently weigh down overall readiness rates.

That hearing showed Marine Corps Osprey readiness had fallen from a previously reported 60% to around 50%. The Navy, which operates a much smaller fleet of the aircraft, posted a readiness rate of 40%.

Iris is intended to give operators a more complete decision picture as they assign aircraft, manage maintenance and address supply problems. The tool does not merely identify an immediate scheduling option, according to Bocek, but also presents the trade space associated with that decision.

Interest in AI capabilities has also helped drive rapid growth for Virtualitics. Bocek said the company has been “on a tear,” quadrupling its revenue during the past two years.

Revenue could triple again this year, according to Bocek. He also said additional military contracts are expected to be announced during the next 90 days as the company expands its work across military components.