Military Could Order 167 Tiltrotors; Combat Deployment
Approaching
Once nearly cancelled due to safety
questions in the wake of a string fatal accidents -- and still
viewed with a wary eye by many in the aviation community -- it
appears the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft is poised to assume a
prominent role among US military aircraft.
At a ceremony Monday marking completion of the 100th V-22
fuselage in Philadelphia, V-22 program manager Marine Corps Col.
Matthew Mulhern said a $10 billion military procurement order for
167 V-22s could be signed by the end of the year.
"December is what we're targeting," Mulhern told reporters,
according to Reuters.
Such a multiyear contract would guarantee V-22 production over
the next five years, Mulhern said, and would help drive down
per-unit costs and offer stability for the program and its roughly
400 suppliers.
Details are still being worked out, though Mulhern also said the
agreement would include options for up to three additional aircraft
each year. Those extra Ospreys could be deployed by US forces, or
sold to foreign governments. The contract would also have to cover
costs of new tooling if more than 42 new Ospreys were built.
As ANN reported earlier this
year, the US Marines will deploy the first 10-ship
V-22 squadron to Iraq in September -- the first combat deployment
for the tiltrotor aircraft.
The Osprey has had a troubled development record -- including
the February 2007 grounding of the fleet due to a software problem.
A total of four fatal accidents have occurred in the tiltrotor's
development, claiming the lives of 26 military personnel and four
civilians. The military grounded the program for nearly two years
following a December 2000 crash in Arizona.
A January 2007 report by Washington-based think tank, the Center
for Defense Information (CDI), recommended the military scrap the entire
Osprey program, due to what it termed "operational,
aerodynamic and survivability challenges that will prove
insurmountable -- and lethal -- in combat."
Representatives with Bell Helicopter and Boeing -- which
partnered to manufacture the Osprey -- reply the aircraft, though
beset by difficulties early on, has since proven itself worthy, and
safe. In March, the entire Osprey fleet surpassed 25,000 flight
hours.
At Monday's ceremony at the plant where Boeing produces the
fuselage and wings for the Osprey, Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, the
Marines' deputy commandant for aviation, said he and others are
"really sure" the Osprey is more than ready for its deployment.
The V-22 flies at twice the speed of older helicopters, he
noted, and has vastly improved range. It is also built to stand up
to small arms fire, and can lift off and escape a hostile area
quicker than the helicopters it is scheduled to eventually
replace.
In addition to potential US orders, foreign governments --
including Britain, Israel, and Japan -- have also expressed
interest in the Osprey, Mulhern said.
"There's a lot of interest" he said. "I think everybody is
waiting to see how it does with the deployment."