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BULLHORN #21  22APR08

99 ANAers!!

Please pass to ALL HANDS –

PBS documentary CARRIER. A 10-hour series airing on PBS Sunday 27 April, that follows the crew and airwing of the USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) through a WESTPAC in 2005. This series is a must see for anyone who really wants to see and experience life onboard a nuclear powered US aircraft carrier, most powerful weapon in our arsenal. This show is a reality show following the crew and their daily lives.  No punches are held; it shows the positive and the negative of life at sea.

Remember, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation will conduct Symposium ’08 Wednesday 7 May (golf tournament) thru Friday, 9 May.

ANA will have its annual membership meeting  at 1300 on Friday in the Museum auditorium.

What a great opportunity to see THE Museum, enjoy a wonderful symposium program and our membership meeting!  We hope to see you there.

Details of Symposium ’08 can be found at http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/getdoc/a5322efa-2eb2-4fe7-ac79-3379c049be2d/Symposium.aspx

PLEASE SEE LOTS MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS IN THE ATTACHMENT

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A product of... Navy Office of Information www.chinfo.navy.mil www.navy.mil 703.697.5342

April 15, 2008

MEMBERSHIP FEEDBACK

Membership Services On-Line - ?  We have received some feedback indicating some members would like to be able to renew their memberships on-line, doing both the “paperwork” and payment using an interactive web-based program that accepts credit cards.  So far, the numbers expressing interest in this capability are not enough to justify the expense of developing it.  If more members would like us to invest in this capability, please let me know by email to me at svwindmills@erols.com.

LOST AND FOUND

We have lost contact with the following members.  Every member is important!!  If anyone has information regarding their situation or whereabouts, please contact me at svwindmills@erols.com                

Name	Full Name	Last Known Address		4/8/2008
Atwood	Mr. Wallace Atwood	Wittmann, AZ		4/8/2008
Baxter	LT William M. Baxter, USN	Honolulu, HI		4/8/2008
Brooks	Mrs. Charles L. Brooks	New Orleans, LA		4/8/2008
Burns	CAPT Richard H. Burns, USN (Ret)	San Diego, CA		4/8/2008
Burns	CAPT David M. Burns, USN (Ret)	Camden, ME		4/8/2008
Burns	Capt John A. Burns, USN (Ret)	Warren, ME		4/8/2008
Convery	LT James J. Convery, III  USN	VF-151		4/8/2008
Conway	CDR Michael Ray Conway, USN	San Diego		4/8/2008
Dundas	CDR Geoffrey W. Dundas, USN	Kaneohe, HI		4/8/2008
Heron	CDR Paul J. Heron, USN (Ret)	Camarillo, CA		4/8/2008
Hyland	LCDR Joel Hyland, USN (Ret)	Port Orange, FL		4/8/2008
Kellett	CDR John Kellett, USN (Ret)	Kaneohe Bay, HI		4/8/2008
Lanham	Dr John Lanham	Muskego, WI		4/8/2008
Lasker	CDR Lawrence J. Lasker, USN(Ret)	Hawaii		4/8/2008
Lutche	CDR Michael W. Lutche, USN	Kailua, HI		4/8/2008
Lynham	CDR Donald M. Lynham, USN (Ret)	Indiana		4/8/2008
McDaniel	CDR Ronald A. McDaniel, USN	HC-4, FPO		4/8/2008
Miller	Mr. Marvin Miller	Tampa, FL		4/8/2008
Moreschi	LTJG John R. Moreschi, Jr, USN	Jacksonville, FL		4/8/2008
Niedermair	LCDR Joseph Niedermair, USN	New Orleans, LA		4/8/2008
Peterson	Mr. Bruce Peterson	Zephyrhills, FL		4/8/2008
Phelps	Mr. Christopher Phelps	Kapolei, HI		4/8/2008
Porter	COL Robert B. Porter, USMC (Ret)	Fresno, CA		4/8/2008
Remington	LCDR Paul Remington, USN (Ret)	Smyrna, GA		4/8/2008
Shurtleff	CAPT W. H. Shurtleff, USN (Ret)	Ewa Beach, HI		4/8/2008
Sorensen	Ms Mary Sorensen	Tucson, AZ		4/8/2008
Tower	LCDR Maury Tower , USN (Ret)	Virginia Beach, VA		4/8/2008
Weisheit	MAJ Bowen P. Weisheit, USMC (Ret)	Bel Air, MD		4/8/2008
Wilson	Mr. Michael P. Wilson	Honolulu, HI		4/8/2008

 Status of the Navy

April 22, 2008

Navy Personnel

Active Duty:   331,924

        Officers:   51,081

        Enlisted:   276,500

        Midshipmen:   4,343

Ready Reserve:   126,060 [As of 08 Mar]

        Selected Reserves: 70,249

        Individual Ready Reserve: 55,811

Reserves currently mobilized:   5,385 [As of 16 Apr]

Personnel on deployment:   69,490

Navy Department Civilian Employees:   178,688

Ships and Submarines

Deployable Battle Force Ships: 279

        Ships Underway (away from homeport): 131 ships (47% of total)

        On deployment: 115 ships (41% of total)

        Attack submarines underway (away from homeport): 25 submarines (46%)

        On deployment: 20 submarines (37%)

Ships Underway

        Carriers:

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) - Pacific Ocean

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) - Philippine Sea

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - 5th Fleet

USS George Washington (CVN 73) - Atlantic Ocean

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - 5th Fleet

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) - Pacific Ocean

        Amphibious Warfare Ships:

USS Nassau (LHA 4) - Mediterranean Sea

        Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group:

USS Tarawa (LHA 1) - 5th Fleet

April 22, 2008

Flag Officer Announcements

            Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has made the following
      nominations:  

            Navy Vice Adm. Melvin G. Williams Jr. has been nominated for reappointment to the grade of vice admiral
     and assignment as commander, Second Fleet, Norfolk, Va. Williams is currently serving as deputy commander,
     U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. (VADM Williams is a surface warfare officer – Dutch) 

            Navy Rear Adm. William E. Gortney has been nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and
     assignment as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Central Command and commander, Fifth Fleet, in Bahrain. Gortney
     is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Ten, Norfolk, Va.

Rear Admiral William E. Gortney
Commander, Carrier Strike Group Ten

Rear Admiral William E. Gortney graduated from Elon College, North Carolina in 1977, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. He entered the Navy as an Aviation Officer Candidate (AOC), and received his commission as an Ensign in the United States Naval Reserve in September 1977. Rear Adm. Gortney received his Wings of Gold in December 1978 while assigned to VT-7 in Meridian, Mississippi.

Rear Adm. Gortney’s command assignments include VFA-15, 1994-1995, onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), VFA-106, the East Coast F/A-18 Fleet Replacement Squadron, 1996-1997, and Carrier Air Wing Seven, 2002-2003, onboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67).

Rear Adm. Gortney’s fleet assignments include tours with VA-82, 1981-1984, onboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68); VFA-87, 1988-1990, onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71); Executive Officer, VFA-132, 1991-1992, onboard USS Forrestal (CV 59); Executive Officer, VFA-15, 1992-1994, onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71); and Deputy Commander, Carrier Air Wing Seven, 2000-2002, onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67).

Rear Adm. Gortney’s shore assignments include tours with VT-26 (T-2C) NAS Beeville Texas, 1978-1980; VFA-125 (F/A-18A/B), NAS Lemoore, California, 1984-1988; and Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare), in Washington, D.C., 1990-1991. Additional training tours include VT-6 (T-28), VT-9 (T-2C), VA-174 (A-7E), VFA-125 and VFA-106 (F/A-18A/B/C/D). He is a 1996 graduate of the Naval War College, earning a Masters of Arts in International Security Affairs. He served on the Joint Staff, J-33 Joint Operations Department, CENTCOM Division, 1998-1999, followed by a tour as Deputy for Current Operations, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia. Rear Adm. Gortney served as Chief, Naval and Amphibious Liaison Element to the Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served as the Chief of Staff for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. Fifth Fleet from 2003-2004. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Global Force Management and Joint Operations, Fleet Forces Command, in Norfolk, VA 2004-2006. Rear Adm. Gortney reported to his current position as Commander, Carrier Strike Group Ten in July 2006.

Rear Adm. Gortney has flown over 5300 flight hours and made over 1,200 carrier arrested landings. He is authorized to wear the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (two awards), Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Air Medal (three awards: Gold Numeral One, two Strike/Flight), Defense Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Updated: 12 July 2006

Aircraft Carrier Completes Maintenance; Returns to Bremerton
Story Number: NNS080328-27
Release Date: 3/28/2008 5:00:00 PM

From USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs

From CHINFO -

A Day in the Navy

15 April 2008

• On April 15th, 331,889 Active Duty, 70,249 Reserve Component Sailors, with 5,519 Reserves mobilized, and 178,739 civilians are serving in the Department of the Navy.

• 280 active ships are in service. 132 (47%) including 5 carriers and 4 amphibious large deck ships are underway.

• Approximately 11,528 Sailors are deployed on the ground around the world in support of the Global War or Terror, including 4,975 individual augmentees in Iraq and 1,497 in Afghanistan, among various other countries around the world.

• Adm. Gary Roughead visits the crew of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) to address Sailors deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO). Roughead is visiting the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) AOO to strengthen international maritime partnerships as part of the Navy’s Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower and meet with regional leaders in an effort to increase dialogue and cooperation.

• An HVBSS (Helo Visit Board Search and Seizure) team is deployed with USS Abraham Lincoln -- marking the first operational deployment for this Maritime Expeditionary Security Force capability.

• USS George Washington (CVN-73), currently operating off the coast of South America in support of Partnership of Americas 08, is underway to Yokosuka, Japan, where it will replace USS Kitty Hawk as the United States’ forward deployed carrier.

• HURREX 08 commences, focusing on training afloat and shore-based commands with hurricane threat scenarios for use in exercising sortie, evacuation, emergency preparedness, and recovery and consequence management procedures.

• USS Hawaii, the nation’s newest Virginia-class submarine, is underway in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility conducting counter illicit trafficking operations in support of U.S. and participating nation drug control programs.

• USS Florida is underway in the Atlantic making final preparations for their first deployment as a converted SSGN.

• USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), along with embarked Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14) and Destroyer Squadron Seven (DESRON 7), is underway conducting Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 08-5 off the coast of Southern California in preparation for a regularly scheduled deployment.

• Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet’s weekly podcast is being posted on www.cpf.navy.mil. This week’s podcast discusses the strategic importance of Navy’s submarines and salutes San Diego, host to the Great White Fleet 100 years ago.

• Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet is meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea with the new Chief of Naval operations and the new ROK Fleet Commander for a Combined Tactical Discussion for the Naval Component Command.

• USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Mobile Bay, and USS Shoup are conducting a passing exercise with the Republic of Singapore Navy before making a port visit to Singapore. Exercise events include flight operations, DLQs, UNREP dry hook up, and VBSS. During the port visit, USS Abraham Lincoln will host a reception for the Singapore Chief of the Navy, RADM Chew Len Weong.

• USS Fort McHenry and HSV Swift are completing their very successful deployments in support of Africa Partnership Station. Both ships have been providing valuable training and engagement opportunities to the West Africa region. USS Fort McHenry has departed the region while HSV Swift still has remaining events with Benin and Senegal.

• USS Kitty Hawk, Carrier Air Wing 5, and Destroyer Squadron 15 are underway in the Pacific to conduct dual carrier operations with the USS Nimitz Strike Group.

• USS Port Royal and USS Hopper are in port Palau where the commanding officers will meet with Vice President Chin and crew members will meet community members at events at the Yelch Ball Field, the old Airai Elementary school and the Kaingungsho Building, State Office.

• USS Chafee is conducting a goodwill port visit to Osaka, Japan where CDR Heedong Choi will formally assume command of USS Chafee. The crew will visit one of Japan’s major metropolitan areas and learn more of the rich historic and cultural heritage of Osaka.

• Approximately 500 Maritime Expeditionary Security Force (MESF) Sailors in CENTCOM are providing security onboard MSC ships and security to ships arriving in the Arabian Gulf while approximately 100 MESF Sailors are in the Philippines providing embarked and boat security in the Western Pacific.

• In exercise CITADEL GALE 08, three simulated hurricanes have made landfall in the continental United States. CNIC is coordinating the response effort to the affected regions and installations. Participants include Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, Navy Region Southeast, US Fleet Forces, CNIC, C2F, and Navy Personnel Command.

• The Navy Ceremonial Guard is rehearsing on The White House South Lawn for the Papal Visit to The White House tomorrow.

• Navy Installations Command is providing funeral honor support to a total of 103 funerals for our country’s veterans on 15 April.

• Five staff members from Naval Hospital Okinawa are deploying to Thailand in support of PACFLT and III Marine Expeditionary Force MEDCAP/DENTCAP operations during Cobra Gold exercises.

 Navy: Unmanned Combat Squadron by 2025

Aviation Week's DTI | Amy Butler and Robert Wall | March 2008

This article first appeared in AviationWeek.com.

The U.S. Navy is calling for competitive prototyping in preparation for fielding its first squadron of Unmanned Combat Air Systems (UCAS) by 2025.

NUCAS is expected to replace the Navy's F/A-18s on aircraft carrier decks, and the system will provide greater range and time on station than the manned fleet. This shift will project Navy air power far beyond today's reach, adding more protection to ships at sea.

This strategy puts the Navy at the forefront of the Pentagon's efforts to field combat drones; the U.S. Air Force has decided to create a manned design for its next-generation bomber for fielding in 2018.

The Navy is conducting an analysis of alternatives to narrow down its choices for the F/A-18 replacement, dubbed the F/A-XX program.

In lockstep, officials at Naval Air Systems Command are formulating an acquisition strategy to build off of work handled by Northrop Grumman, which is building two NUCAS demonstrators, according to Capt. Martin Deppe, NUCAS program manager. Northrop Grumman beat Boeing for the $635 contract to design and test the suitability of a tailless, low-observable design operating in and around aircraft carriers.

The first demonstrator flight is set for November 2009, and carrier trials will be complete in late 2012.

Deppe says the acquisition strategy for a follow-on to the demonstrator project will likely be ready in 2011. Though Deppe says he wants to have competing prototypes, the strategy does not call for new air vehicle designs.

I have a few photos of Scan Eagle – they were not included in this article because the file would be too large.  If anyone would like to see the article with the photos (an 865KB file), please email me and I be happy to send it to you. - Dutch

Subject: China Lake flies first Navy-owned Scan Eagle test asset

Date: 13-Mar-08

News Release Number: ECL200803131

News Release Copy: By Renee Hatcher NAWCWD Public Affairs The Naval Unmanned Systems Integration Activity (NUSIA) teamed with NAWCWD’s Unmanned Systems Technical Project Office and conducted a successful initial flight of the first unmanned Scan Eagle test vehicle owned by the Navy on Feb. 29 at China Lake.

“This is a big change of mindset for us,” said Brian Whiteside, of NUSIA. “Up until this point, all of our unmanned operations had been done with contractor-owned test vehicles. Now, we have our own Navy-owned and operated test asset that we can use for our unmanned operations.”

The Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew locally for about 30 minutes. The Scan Eagle team was led by Whiteside as the mission commander. T.J. Zackman was the pilot in command for the launch and recovery, and Tony Fabiszak was the ground crew. They ran the mission from a command and control van parked about 50 yards from the UAV on China Lake’s North Range.

“The system performed as expected,” Whiteside said. “It was a great success.”

The INSITU Scan Eagle will be used at China Lake as well as other designated facilities as a test bed for concept of operations development and UAS integration efforts.

“The demand for UAV operations, support and testing has grown exponentially,” said Whiteside, a former Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot. “It’s really the next step in naval aviation.”

Since 2004, Scan Eagle has logged more than 50,000 hours in theater providing real-time imagery to tactical commanders and acting as forward observers to monitor enemy vehicle and personnel movement, and buildings and terrain in Iraq.

Weighing about 40 pounds, Scan Eagle is four feet long and has a wingspan just over 10 feet. It can safely fly up to 16,000 feet at a cruising speed of 60 mph. It is launched via a pneumatic wedge catapult launcher, flies pre-programmed missions via a GPS-based navigation system, and is retrieved using a ‘skyhook’ system by catching a rope hanging from a 50-foot pole.

“We’ll use this system to further the capabilities of UAVs in general,” Whiteside said.

This Scan Eagle is part of an inventory of Dakota and 14 Pioneer UASs at China Lake. The team expects to get four more Scan Eagles as well as SHADOW, and Raven systems.

Currently, Whiteside and his team are working at China Lake on a video targeting demonstration with Scan Eagle. They are also performing payload modifications, and rapid deployment testing in support of the global war on terrorism.

With increasing UAS operations at China Lake, the team has put a lot of effort into figuring out how best to integrate unmanned systems into the local operating airspace.

“We have worked very closely with the folks at Range Safety to come up with procedures for airspace integration,” Whiteside said.

Future efforts include integration work with the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center, Special Operations Command, Naval Post Graduate School, and the Joint UAS Center of Excellence. Whiteside said he is looking forward to great advancements in unmanned systems.

“UAVs are the next logical step in aviation,” Whiteside said. “There will always be a need for pilots but I believe we will see a big shift during the next 30 years toward unmanned systems.”

Welcome to U.S. Air Force AIM Points

F-35 JSF engines in critical tests as Congress deliberates

BY: Graham Warwick, Flight International
03/28/2008

Altitude testing of a pre-development General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternative engine has been completed as Pratt & Whitney prepares for critical tests of its F135 primary engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The tests come as U.S. Congress deliberates whether to overturn the Department of Defense's decision to cancel the F136 to save money. Testifying in late March, the U.S. Air Force leadership said they would prefer to keep both engines, but that there was an issue of affordability.

The first system development and demonstration F136 is scheduled to run early in 2009, but the GE/R-R Fighter Engine Team has been using "pre-SDD" engines fitted with production-representative fan, augmentor and controls to conduct early conventional take-off and landing and short take-off and vertical landing testing.

GE/R-R completed high-altitude afterburner testing of a pre-SDD F136 in late March at the USAF's Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee. The tests included the common exhaust hardware for the F-35. A second pre-SDD engine is undergoing CTOL and STOVL testing at GE's outdoor site in Peebles, Ohio.

In April, P&W will test an instrumented F135 to confirm the root cause and verify the corrective action for the low-pressure turbine blade failure that affected two STOVL engines. The company believes the high-cycle fatigue failure results from vibration caused by interaction of the third-stage blades and vanes.

"We intend to demonstrate we can turn the phenomenon on, and prove we can turn it off," says Bill Gostic, F135 programme manager. The test will be repeated in September using an engine with redesigned third-stage blades and vanes, "to show the redesign turns it off", he says. The redesign uses two different vane spacings to disrupt the vibration.

  NNS080328-22. Oak Harbor Holds Public Hearing for P-8A MMA

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tucker M. Yates, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest

OAK HARBOR, Wash. (NNS) -- A public hearing for the introduction of the P-8A "Poseidon" Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) and environmental impact statement presentation were held at the Oak Harbor School District office, March 26.

The hearing was held as the Navy prepares to transition from the P-3C Orion to the P-8A from 2012 to 2019. The transition affects the community due to four existing P-3C Patrol Squadrons (VPs) presently in service on nearby Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island.

This transitional period will lead to between three and seven P-8A squadrons being stationed on the base depending on which of the six alternatives presented by the Navy is selected. The preferred alternative would maintain four squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island.

"Under the requirements for environmental study, we have to look at different options and different alternatives, so for this action we have six different alternatives, all involving the same bases, but differences in the number of squadrons going to each base," said Rick Keys, a project officer for the P-8A Fleet Introduction with U.S. Fleet Forces Command, based in Norfolk.

"[The preferred alternative] meets operational requirements and also, from a cost standpoint, has advantages. [The Office of] the Secretary of the Navy looks at cost, operational requirements and the environmental impact and balances all of those factors."

There are three other Navy and Marine Corps installations around the fleet and eight additional squadrons also involved in the transition, NAS Jacksonville, Fla., NAS North Island, Calif., and Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) Kaneohe Bay. The same type of hearing will be held at these installations April 1, for MCBH Kaneohe Bay, April 3, for NAS North Island, and April 9, for NAS Jacksonville, as an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns over the environmental and economic impacts this transition will have on their communities.

"We're hoping to tell them what the Navy proposes to do and that is to replace the old P-3 with a newer airplane and explain to them what that airplane is and how it will affect their lives," said Keys. "The Navy looks at all the comments that we get through this process and the public may point out an area we didn't study or where we may have a mistake in our assumptions. That's why this is a draft environmental impact statement and we'll take those inputs we get into making a final environmental impact statement, correcting any errors and looking into anything the public feels we may need to look into."

The transition will reduce the number of aircraft and personnel required to accomplish the VP mission from 120 aircraft to 84 and 4,760 personnel to 3,309, leading to a more cost-effective and efficient force for the squadrons.

The event was split into two sessions. The first was a two-hour information session with display stations featuring the processes and impacts of the transition with subject matter experts to answer any more in-depth questions an attendee might have. This was followed by the two-hour public hearing presided over by Capt. Keith Allred, Navy and Marine Corps Trial Judiciary, Western Judicial Circuit, where members of the local community were afforded the opportunity to voice their comments and concerns with a three-minute time constraint per individual.

John Phillips, NAS Whidbey Island natural resources manager, is acting as environmental liaison between the installation and Fleet Forces.

"With the preferred alternative it's pretty much status quo and business as usual, there'll be new hangars and new infrastructures, but no impact as far as wetlands or anything like that," said Phillips. "If one of the larger alternatives is selected then there is a need to expand the flight line and tarmac in the area where the P-3s currently are, which is surrounded by wetlands almost entirely on three sides."

Members of the local military community were glad the citizens were provided a venue to be educated and speak their mind on the future of the Navy.

"We're happy that we gave the public the opportunity to comment on the future of P-8 at NAS Whidbey Island," said Capt. Gerral David, commanding officer of NAS Whidbey Island.

 Boeing, Textron Get $10.4 Billion V-22 Aircraft Award      By Tony Capaccio

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. and Textron Inc. received a $10.4 billion contract for the V-22 Osprey that ensures production of 167 more of the aircraft through 2012, the Pentagon said today.

The multiyear contract will save as much as $427 million over annual contracts to manufacture the tilt-rotor plane, the Pentagon estimated. The contract calls for building 141 of the planes for the Marine Corps and 26 for the Air Force, a Pentagon news release said. The Defense Department had 132 aircraft on order before today's contract announcement.

``This is good for a variety of reasons, stability of the production line for an aircraft we know we need and stability for jobs,'' said Representative Joe Sestak, a Pennsylvania Democrat. It also has a cost savings and ``heaven knows, we need that,'' said Sestak, who represents a district where Boeing builds its part of the aircraft.

The V-22 has rotors that tilt so it can take off and land like a helicopter. The military sees it as useful for long-range Marine Corps and commando missions.

The program has weathered investigations, design reviews and a suspension of flight testing for 17 months in late 2000 after two crashes that year that killed 23 Marines. The crashes were attributed to an aerodynamic condition that testing failed to evaluate and software and hydraulics flaws that have since been fixed.

Flying in Combat

A Marine V-22 squadron has been flying from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq since October 2007 in the first combat deployment of the aircraft.

The Pentagon awards multiyear contracts only when acquisition officials are confident a program is stable and the contractors can execute the terms. A multiyear contract allows manufacturers to operate more efficiently and is almost impossible to terminate, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group.

``This should bring costs down'' for the V-22, Aboulafia said. ``More importantly,'' the new contract ``removes any remaining doubt about this being a full production program.''

The total program for 458 aircraft is estimated to cost $54 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars, including research, development and production, the Pentagon said in its latest tally of major weapons program costs. The program in 2002 was estimated to cost $46.2 billion, according to Pentagon figures.

Attach Wings, Tail

Textron's Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter unit co- produces the Osprey with Boeing's Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, facility. Boeing makes the fuselage. Bell mates the wings and the tail to the fuselage and conducts flight tests.

Textron rose as high as $55.80 in after-hours trading. The stock closed at $54.62 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Boeing hovered around its closing price of $73.47.

Commander Naval Air Forces Visits NAS Whidbey Island
Story Number: NNS080331-17
Release Date: 3/31/2008 3:04:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tucker M. Yates, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest

Defense spending beacons