US Navy congratulated for reducing V-22 flight hour costs

The US Navy's PMA-275 has been awarded for reducing the cost-per-flight-hour (CPFH) for the V-22 Osprey fleet.

The Packard Award was given to Naval Air Systems Command Joint V-22 Program (NAVAIR PMA-275) V-22 CPFH Reduction Team by the Department of Defense on 1 November.

The V-22 CPFH Reduction Team was established in 2009 with the specific purpose of reducing the operating cost of the aircraft.

In a press release, Bell-Boeing said that as a direct result of the CPFH Reduction Team's work, the actual costs for fiscal year 2010 were lower than estimated. This trend of decreasing operational costs has continued, as the fiscal 2011 CPFH figures are more than 15% less than those of the previous fiscal year.

John Rader, executive director of the Bell Boeing V-22 programme, said: 'In this challenging economic environment, it is crucial for government and industry to work together to drive down costs. Our employees take great pride in knowing their hard work in support of PMA-275’s cost-per-flight-hour reduction initiative is appreciated and recognized by the Department of Defense.'

The plan included reliability and maintainability improvements, maintenance concept changes, stand-up of additional repair capability, component repair price reductions, and alternate contract strategies.

The Bell-Boeing support team worked closely with NAVAIR to develop and implement a retrofit process that provided improved components to the entire operational fleet, including deployed aircraft. The team also worked together to review and improve critical maintenance and troubleshooting procedures for maintainers in the field.