US Navy Pays $57Mln for Single Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey Tilt Rotor

The Department of Defense said that the US Navy has awarded Bell-Boeing a more than $57 million contract to retrofit of one MV-22 in support of the aircraft’s readiness and modernization program.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Navy has awarded Bell-Boeing a more than $57 million contract to retrofit of one MV-22 in support of the aircraft’s readiness and modernization program, the Department of Defense said in a press release.

"Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office [in] Amarillo, Texas is being awarded [a] $57,107,283… contract for… the retrofit of one MV-22 aircraft in support of the V-22 Common Configuration-Readiness and Modernization (CC-RAM) Program," the release stated on Thursday.

The MV-22 Block C upgrade incorporates weather radar, an improved environmental control system, troop commander situational awareness display, upgraded standby flight instrument and GPS repeater and additional chaff/flare equipment, according to published reports.

In mid-April, the US Navy ordered another $38.8 million worth of repairs on different parts of the controversial V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. However, the V-22 has had at least seven hull-loss accidents resulting in at least 36 fatalities.