Bell Boeing celebrates 400th V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor delivery
Bell Boeing has delivered its 400th V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to USAF Special Operations Command, the company confirmed on 10 June.
The aircraft has been in production since May 1999 with its current $5 billion Multi-year Procurement III contract due to expire in 2024. Osprey has been delivered to the USAF, USMC and USN as well as its first international customer, Japan.
USMC Col Matthew Kelly, programme manager for the V-22 Joint Programme Office, said: ‘V-22s continue to be in high demand, protecting our country and our allies around the world through combat operations, international training partnerships and humanitarian missions… This platform’s impact cannot be overstated.’
Since becoming operational in 2007, the V-22 Osprey has achieved more than 500,000 flight hours.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
August crewed air review: KC-390 momentum builds as demand in the tanker market grows
The KC-390 is building a growing international operator base, but competition in the transport and tanker market is increasingly likely to depend on interoperability, commonality and the strength of supporting ecosystems. Meanwhile, Boeing’s KC-46 and Airbus’s A330 also gained ground in August.
-
New E-3 and T-38 awards expose US Air Force legacy fleet dependence
Contracts for E-3 aircrew training through August 2029 and supplies for the T-38 engine until December 2028 reflect issues with replacement and retirement plans across the USAF inventory.
-
USMC advances MV-22B Osprey safety and reliability upgrades
The US Marine Corps is testing a redesigned input quill assembly and plans to transition its MV-22B fleet to improved gearboxes by January 2033 as it prepares to operate the tiltrotor through 2055.
-
Swedish Air Force faces up to the challenge of new aircraft and an uncrewed horizon
Sweden is an outlier as a smaller nation with its own indigenous fighter aircraft and airborne early warning platform and is now looking at how local company Saab Aerospace can meet the plans for a collaborative combat aircraft.