Le Bourget, France International sales of the Bell-Boeing V-22 tiltrotor aircraft could approach 100 units, said Marine Corps Col. Gregory Masiello, joint V-22 program manager, during a briefing here on Monday on the first day of the 50th Paris Air Show. Already, the United States is discussing the sale of the V-22 to Israel, and there are “multiple” other nations with which US officials are talking, he told reporters. In addition to the V-22’s multi-mission appeal, the aircraft’s record of survivability and safety “is resonating” with international partners, he said. Plus, there is the V-22’s suitability to shuttling VIPs, a role, which “many folks are asking about,” he said. Already a V-22 has landed on a British warship and, just last week, on two different classes of Japanese warships, said Masiello. “I think there is interest in the V-22 for Japan in the future,” he noted. The United States and France have also cleared the V-22 to land on French warships, but this has not happened yet, he said. His briefing charts listed these nations as having expressed varying degrees of interest in the V-22: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, France, India, Israel, Italy, Libya, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…