Bell Boeing JPO, a joint venture between Boeing and Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., is awarded a $4,2 billion contract for the manufacture and delivery of new V-22 Osprey medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 29 June. The contract covers the manufacture and delivery of 39 CMV-22Bs for the US Navy; 34 MV-22Bs for the US Marine Corps; one CV-22B for the US Air Force, and four MV-22Bs for the Government of Japan. The order is expected to be completed in November 2024, the DOD statement said.
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.
The failure of Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980 underscored the requirement for a new long-range, high-speed, vertical-takeoff aircraft for the United States Department of Defense. In response, the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) aircraft program started in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team jointly produce the aircraft.[5] The V-22 first flew in 1989, and began flight testing and design alterations; the complexity and difficulties of being the first tiltrotor for military service led to many years of development.
