V-22 Said to Lose $1.75B Budget Cuts

The planned reduction to 98 planes from 122 will be reflected in a final, multi-year contract that’s under negotiation between the Navy and companies, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.

The V-22 is a fixed-wing plane with rotors that tilt so it can take off and land like a helicopter. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, and Textron’s Bell Helicopter unit are in the last year of a four-year, $10.9 billion contract for 174 aircraft. The Bell Helicopter-Boeing team submitted a proposal in August for all 122 aircraft that were previously planned.

The Pentagon’s decision to curtail V-22 purchases is part of an effort to find $259 billion in planned savings through 2017. The cutbacks also include delays in acquiring 179 F-35 fighters, two Littoral Combat ships, one Virginia-class submarine and postponing by two years construction of the next generation of ballistic-missile submarines.

The Army is canceling upgrades of its Humvee all-terrain vehicles, and the Navy isn’t buying eight Joint High Speed Vessels.

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