V-22 osprey maybe sold to 10-12 foreign countries

[asianobserve]

By Stephen Trimble

Saying export discussions have intensified within the past six months, Textron chief executive Scott Donnelly now estimates as many as 12 countries could buy the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor after 2015.

"We're not talking about hundreds of countries" buying V-22s, Donnelly told analysts during a second-quarter earnings webcast on 20 July. "I think it's 10 to 12 countries that are going to buy these."

Donnelly named Israel as one nation involved in export discussions for the unique tiltrotor aircraft, which can hover and land vertically like a helicopter. However, others have not been disclosed because the countries have not announced their interest, he added.

Different versions of the V-22 will remain in production for the US Marine Corps and US Air Force through at least 2016.

Only then will the Bell Boeing joint venture producing the aircraft have the manufacturing capacity to deliver more to foreign customers, Donnelly said.

The potential production gap is still five years away, but the negotiating process with potential foreign buyers already started taking shape two years ago.

In March, the Israeli air force expressed new interest in acquiring the V-22, and a team of evaluators was dispatched last month to Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Bell Boeing and the USMC are continuing to negotiate terms for a possible multi-year procurement deal for hundreds of MV-22s, with the aim of obtaining higher savings than possible on annual orders.

The MV-22 has been flying in operational service for the Marines for more than five years. More recently, the CV-22 has been launched into service by the Air Force Special Operations Command.

A recent highlight of the MV-22's performance was the rescue earlier this year of a USAF Boeing F-15E crew that had ejected over Libya.

 

[asianobserve]

IAF ups pressure for V-22 buy
By Arie Egozi

The Israeli air force (IAF) will increase the pressure on the country's ministry of defence to fund the purchase of Bell-Boeing V-22 tilt rotors, following a positive evaluation of the aircraft.

A delegation from the IAF, including pilots and technical experts, recently visited US Marine Corps sites in the United States, to inspect the USMC's MV-22B Ospreys.

Israeli sources said that feedback from the IAF was overwhelmingly positive.

The IAF now wants to include an initial order for "limited" numbers of the V-22 in the multi-year spending plan being prepared by the Israeli Defence Force.

That wish may not be granted, however, but as a contingency the IAF may use reserve budgets to fund the purchase.

Scott Donnelly, chief executive of Bell parent company Textron, recently suggested that up to 12 countries, including Israel, would end up purchasing the Osprey.

 

[Tshering22]

V-22s are the only tiltrotors that are in use for military applications isn't it? They're bloody useful, I tell you that. Best applicable for special forces operations that may be needed against Pakistani targets inside POK.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

V-22s are the only tiltrotors that are in use for military applications isn't it? They're bloody useful, I tell you that. Best applicable for special forces operations that may be needed against Pakistani targets inside POK.

You compare it with any Helicopter of that size and you will see that it is no better than Helicopter and it costs triple the amount of what an large helicopter can do. Its only marginally faster than an Helicopter and it carries lesser and flys lower than most helis in its size.

 

[asianobserve]

You compare it with any Helicopter of that size and you will see that it is no better than Helicopter and it costs triple the amount of what an large helicopter can do. Its only marginally faster than an Helicopter and it carries lesser and flys lower than most helis in its size.

The biggest selling point of tilt rotors are its speed. I believe that tilt are still in its infancy and may yet have a bigger role to play in future military aviation needs. Note that even attack helicopters are slowly exploring ways at extracting more speed by ingenious compound and stack up rotor designs.