Employees of the Bell Helicopter’s facility in Amarillo, Texas celebrated the 350th delivery of the V-22 Osprey which is manufactured under a 50-50 partnership with Boeing.
The aircraft reached initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Marine Corps on June 2007 which uses the MV-22B variant and has more than 360 in order. Fifty CV-22B are in use by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) of the US Air Force.
“We recognize the quantum leap in technology that your team achieved…not a faster helicopter or a fixed-wing plane that could land vertically, but a blend of the two aircraft no one has seen before. We worked hand-in-glove with the Bell Boeing team over more than a decade, moving from drawing board to flightline, and together we have done great things for our Marine Corps, and for our nation.” – Jon M. Davis, Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps.
The Bell Boeing V-22 is the world’s first production tiltrotor aircraft, successfully blending the vertical flight capability of a helicopter with the speed, range, altitude and endurance of an airplane. This unique combination provides the warfighter with an unprecedented advantage. This allows more effective mission execution and realization of missions previously unachievable in one aircraft. Comprehensively tested and currently in full-rate production, the Bell Boeing V-22 has proven to be a survivable and transformational platform in the most challenging environments on the planet.