September 2006: V-22 Osprey Contracts

(click to view full) The V-22 Osprey’s history has been long, and troubled. The aircraft remains controversial despite a $200 million order for 3 MV-22s in August 2006; the forced abort of a direct-deployment flight to the 2006 Farnborough Air Show has been the most recent caution light for the program. The US Marines’ MV-22B was declared “operationally suitable and effective for military use” last year, though the criteria for doing so have been questioned. SOCOM’s CV-22 for use by US Special Forces is in a less advanced phase of development, however, and is currently undergoing modifications and flight testing. Unless otherwise specified, The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contracts. Sept 21/06: The Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office in Patuxent River, MD received a $15.2 million delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N68335-04-G-0006) for 156 operational test program sets (OTPS) for Lot I (96), Lot II (42), and OTPS 14 (18) to support the V-22 aircraft. This includes manufacturing, testing, acceptance testing, technical evaluation, and on-site verfication (OSV), to result in the successful site standup at a total of 6 different sites. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, PA (60%) and Ft. Worth, […]