Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor poised for international sales drive

Bell Boeing will use Farnborough as a platform to launch a drive for international sales of the V-22 military tiltrotor, the joint venture said at a packed press conference yesterday.

Industry sources make it clear that there are four near-term candidates to take the V-22 – the UK, Japan, Israel and Australia – although Mike Tkach, Boeing vice-president and general manager for rotorcraft, declines to name potential customers.

What he does confirm is that a key focus for the programme team during the next 12 months will be to reduce the unit cost of the aircraft.

For the US Marine Corps (USMC) the target cost per aircraft is $58 million by fiscal year 2010. Bell Boeing says it is roughly halfway toward meeting that target, having taken the cost from $78 million to $69 million to date.

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