The
Bell Boeing V-22 team recently delivered its 400th aircraft,
a CV-22 for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command.
The first production V-22 was
delivered on May 24, 1999, and Wednesday's deliveries occur under the
Multi-year Procurement III contract valued at $5 billion. That
agreement, which runs through 2024, includes variants for the
Marines, Air Force, and Navy, as well as the first international
customer, Japan.
The
V-22 takes off, hovers, and lands like a helicopter yet flies long
distances like a turboprop aircraft. The CV-22 variant performs
special operations missions, including infiltration, extraction, and
resupply, that conventional aircraft can’t. The Marine Corps
variant, the MV-22B, provides the safe and reliable transportation of
personnel, supplies, and equipment for combat assault, assault
support, and fleet logistics. The Navy variant, the CMV-22B, is the
replacement for the C-2A Greyhound for the carrier onboard delivery
mission.
The
V-22 has accumulated more than 500,000 flight hours.
