V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, Lot 17 long-lead items: ~$7.34B — procurement from Bell Boeing (USAspending)
Per USAspending, procurement of long-lead items for production Lot 17 of the "V-22 Osprey" tiltrotor was awarded to the joint venture of Bell and Boeing (Bell Boeing). The value is about $7.34 billion ($7,337,457,222), a definitive contract running December 2011–September 2021. It supports series production of an unusual aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter yet flies fast like a fixed-wing plane.
Contract key facts
- RecipientBoeing
- Contract value$7,337,457,222 (≈$7.34B)
- BranchDefense-wide
- Awarding agencyDepartment of Defense
- Awarding sub-agencyDefense Contract Management Agency
- Award typeDEFINITIVE CONTRACT
- Period of performance2011-12-29 〜 2021-09-30
- Contract ID (PIID)N0001912C2001
Contract scope (original)
PROCUREMENT OF V-22 LOT 17 LONG LEAD-TIME ITEMS
Key points
- Long-lead items for V-22 Osprey Lot 17 awarded to Bell Boeing. Cumulative ~$7.34B ($7,337,457,222).
- Definitive contract, performance December 29, 2011 – September 30, 2021.
- The V-22 is a tiltrotor combining helicopter and fixed-wing traits by tilting its rotors.
- "Long-lead items" — securing long-to-make components ahead of the main production contract.
- Manufactured by a joint venture of Bell (helicopters) and Boeing (aircraft).
The V-22 Osprey is an aircraft of the unusual "tiltrotor" type, whose left and right engine-rotors can tilt from upward (helicopter attitude) to forward (fixed-wing attitude). It takes off and lands vertically where there is no runway, yet flies at speeds and ranges close to a fixed-wing aircraft — a dual-purpose design that made development difficult while giving it distinctive value.
Manufacture is handled by a joint venture pairing helicopter-maker Bell with aircraft-maker Boeing.
This contract covers "Lot 17 long lead-time items." Long-lead items are components that take a long time to make, secured ahead of the main production contract; it is the same concept seen in the Virginia-class submarine and E-2D procurements covered on this site. To keep the production line moving, material is secured before quantities are finalized — a practice common to the series production of complex equipment.
The description (USAspending) goes as far as "procurement of Lot 17 long-lead items" and does not detail specific airframe counts or fielding (this site does not fill in what the description omits). A cumulative ~$7.34B shows a contract sustaining, over several years, the series production of the Osprey — expensive because of its special configuration.
Why it matters
A contract that sustains, over several years, the series production of the Osprey — expensive due to its special tiltrotor configuration — via advance securing of long-lead items. Long-lead procurement is a practice common to the series production of complex equipment, a device to keep production lines moving. Together with the Bell Boeing joint-venture structure, it helps grasp the reality of rotorcraft and specialty-aircraft procurement. Useful to readers tracking the defense industry.
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Sources (primary)
This article is an independent organization based on the U.S. official spending data below. Verify the exact, latest details with the official source.
- USAspending (award details)
- Contract ID (PIID)：N0001912C2001