Defence

The unit price of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey needs to come down by up to $30 million to assure the tiltrotor’s success in the export market, says Boeing Integrated Defense Systems chief executive Jim Albaugh.

“In round numbers it’s a $70 million helicopter,” says Albaugh, who expects the US forces to deploy the type to Iraq next year. “We need to get the price down to $20-30 million less. I think there is an international market for it, but the price is going to have to come down.”

Boeing is working on incremental cost savings with its partner Bell Helicopter, but these are “not as aggressive as I’d like to see”, says Albaugh.

Speaking in London last week, Albaugh said deeper cost savings can be achieved by “investing in produceability” and “getting the rate up”.

The US Marine Corps’ MV-22B – which made its high-profile international air show debut at Farnborough in July – is due to enter operational service in September 2007.

The MV-22 was supposed to have been approved for full-rate production in December 2000, but the go-ahead was delayed until September 2005 after an operational pause and design modifications following two fatal crashes that year.

Hopes of driving down the MV-22’s unit cost from the current $69.9 million to as low as $58 million by fiscal year 2010 are pinned on the USA’s potential multi-year procurement of up to 185 aircraft over five years.