RIDLEY TOWNSHIP >> Officials have said the U.S. Navy wants 12 V-22 Ospreys and are willing to push the Marines’ existing order to the back of the line so they can put the tiltrotor aircraft into action in a new capacity.
Boeing representatives referred comment to Public Affairs at the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md., where several messages placed were not returned Wednesday.
According to published and official reports, the Navy wants to use the Osprey to replace its C-2A Greyhound turboprops for Carrier On-Board Delivery missions, which would be a new use for the Osprey.
The Navy has indicated it wants four Ospreys for each of the fiscal years from 2018 to 2020 to begin replacing the C-2As. If this order receives federal funding approval, it would push 12 Ospreys from the existing Marine order to the end of the production line in 2022-2023.
The Navy would use these Ospreys for passenger and cargo delivery to aircraft groups operating in the world’s waters, a function the workhorse C-2A Greyhound has performed since 1965 as it has carried everything from troops to jet engines and munitions and mail.
In Ridley, about a third of Boeing’s 6,200 employees build the fuselage, empennage and all subsystems, digital avionics and fly-by-wire flight-control systems for the aircraft that takes off, lands and hovers like a helicopter and flies with the speed and range of a plane. The Osprey, unlike the Greyhound, can also refuel midair.
The remainding parts of it – the wing, transmissions, rotor systems, engine installation and final assembly – is completed at Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.’s facility in Amarillo, Texas.
In 2011, 34 V-22 Ospreys were delivered to customers and a year later, another 39 followed.
The U.S. Marine Corps has a need for 360 MV-22s, the Marine version of the Osprey, and the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command wants 50 CV-22s.
Of those, more than 200 Ospreys are in operation with 10 Marine Corps and two Air Force Special Operations squadrons. Worldwide, the Osprey fleet has compiled more than 190,000 flight hours, including stints in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
These 12 Ospreys the Navy wants would impact the second $6.5 billion V-22 Multiyear Procurement contract between the Bell-Boeing partnership and the Marine Corps. Combined with the order for the Air Force Special Operations Command, this contract would result in the manufacture of 99 aircraft over five years.
The Osprey is a unique aircraft that can carry 24 combat troops or up to 20,000 lbs. of internal cargo or 15,000 lbs. of external cargo at a maximum of 280 knots, or 443 km/h.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby, who supports the Osprey program, lauded the aircraft and what this recent development could mean for Delaware County.
“If the published reports prove accurate, this is tremendous news both for workers in our region and our men and women serving overseas,” he issued in a statement. “Combining the range and speed of a fixed-wing plane with the flexibility of a helicopter, the V-22 is a remarkable aircraft that has the potential to revolutionize the way we resupply our ships at sea.”
“I’m proud to continue to support the V-22 and the dedicated and talented workforce in Ridley Park as we look for more roles the Osprey can fill in our military’s playbook,” Meehan continued.
The Navy’s desire for the 12 Ospreys, like all military procurements, remains contingent on budgetary approval at the federal level.
