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."

FMI: www.marines.mil, www.boeing.com/ids