Bell Boeing V-22 program officials submitted their contract proposal to the Navy to build the remaining V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft planned for the Marines Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command, the companies announced Thursday. Their five-year, fixed-priced incentive proposal is for the second V-22 multiyear procurement contract. Under it, the companies expect to produce seven AFSOC CV-22s—bringing the Air Force’s Osprey fleet size to 50—and 115 additional MV-22s for the marines from Fiscal 2013 to Fiscal 2017. “In an era that demands greater fiscal responsibility, the MYP II contract would enable us to deliver this revolutionary capability to our customers in the most efficient way, while generating additional savings for the American taxpayer and bringing strength and stability to the industrial base,” said John Radar, Bell Boeing V-22 program executive director. The companies said their V-22 work is presently “on time and under budget.”
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
