Backgrounder

Integrated Defense Systems

P.O. Box 516
St. Louis, MO 63166
www.boeing.com

V-22 Osprey
Description & Purpose:
The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multi-role combat
aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the
vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and
range of a fixed wing aircraft. With its engine nacelles
and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and
hover like a helicopter, but once airborne, its engine
nacelles can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a
turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude
flight. This combination allows the V-22 to fill an
operational niche no other aircraft can approach.

The Osprey can carry 24 combat troops, or up to 20,000 pounds of internal cargo or
15,000 pounds of external cargo, at twice the speed of a helicopter. It includes cross-
coupled transmissions so either engine can power the rotors if one engine fails. The
rotors can fold and the wing rotates so the aircraft can be stored on board an aircraft
carrier or assault ship. The V-22 is the only vertical platform capable of rapid self-
deployment to any theater of operation worldwide. This will facilitate timely build-up of
combat forces while minimizing the demands of limited strategic sealift and airlift assets.

Customers:
The V-22 is in production for the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force Special Operations
and the U.S. Navy by the Bell Boeing Program Office, located in Amarillo, Texas, and
managed and operated jointly by Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., in Forth Worth, Texas, and
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia, Pa.

The U.S. Marine Corps has a current requirement for 360 MV-22Bs to perform combat
assault and combat support missions. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command
has a requirement for at least 50 CV-22s configured for terrain-following, low-level, high-
speed flight in a variety of special operations missions. The U.S. Navy has a future
requirement for 48 MV-22s that will perform combat support missions. The Marine Corps
established its first fleet V-22 squadron, the VMM-263 “Thunder Chickens,” in 2006. The
squadron became fully operational in 2007 and deployed to Iraq that October, completing
this assignment in April 2008 when the second squadron, VMM-162, relieved it in Iraq.
One additional squadron, VMM-266, stood up in 2007, and the fourth squadron, VMM-
261, activated in April 2008. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command received
the first operational CV-22 in March 2006, and is training at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
The first Air Force unit, the 8th Special Operations Squadron, was activated at Hurlburt
AFB in 2007, and the CV-22 is scheduled to be fully operational in 2009.
General Characteristics:
Propulsion: Two Rolls-Royce AE1107C, 6,150 shp (4,586 kW) each
Length: Fuselage: 57.3 ft (17.48.20 m); Stowed: 63.0 ft (19.08 m
Width Rotors turning: 84.6 ft (25.55 m); Stowed: 18.5 ft (5.61 m)
Height: Nacelles vertical: 22.1 ft (6.73 m); Stabilizer: 17.11 ft (5.38 m)
Rotor Diameter: 38 ft, (11.6 m)
Vertical Takeoff Max 52,600 lb (23,495 kg)
Gross Weight:
Useful Load: 19,460 lb (8,463 kg)
Speed: 250-300 kt (463-555.6 km/h)
Range: 390 nm (722 km) unrefueled radius of action with 24 troops;
> 2,100 nm (3,892 km) self-deployment
Crew: 3/4

Production:
Boeing Rotorcraft Systems is responsible for the fuselage and all subsystems, digital
avionics, and fly-by-wire flight-control systems. Boeing partner Bell Helicopter Textron,
Inc., is responsible for the wing, transmissions, empennage, rotor systems and engine
installation at its completion facility in Amarillo, Texas. Current production plans call for
17 aircraft deliveries, including 13 newly manufactured (10 MV and 3 CV) and four
updated pre-Block A aircraft, in 2008.

Background:
The Department of Defense approved the V-22 program for full production on September
28, 2005 after an exhaustive series of operational tests and evaluations which found the
aircraft meets or exceeds Marine Corps mission requirements. Bell Boeing has delivered
100 aircraft through May 2008 and is modifying aircraft delivered before 2000 to the
Block B operationally deployable configuration. Production will continue for more than a
decade.

Miscellaneous:
Boeing and its industry partners provide unrivaled expertise in both large-scale systems
integration and network centric operations, plus unquestioned leadership in developing
and customizing military and commercial products for U.S. and allied armed forces.

Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., a Textron company, is a leading producer of vertical lift
aircraft for commercial and military customers. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Bell
has built some 35,000 helicopters since 1946 when the Bell 47 became the world's first
helicopter certificated for commercial use.

Contacts:

Jack Satterfield
Boeing Rotorcraft Communications
(610) 591-6670
john.r.satterfield@boeing.com
Last Updated: July 2008