“We have put into place a standard that’s higher than for any other air asset,” Schultz said. “We are putting the Osprey through hell and back because it might have to go there. We are going to know (its limits) completely before the fleet ever gets it.”
The Osprey program will continue test flights at Patuxent River into 2005. An MV-22 squadron stood up at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C. and after a year of training will start operational evaluation trials in December 2004. If everything goes as planned, 2006 could see the first combat-ready operational squadron, Schultz said.
“The fleet will like (the V-22), no doubt about it,” said retired Lt. Col. Steve Grohsmeyer, a Boeing test pilot for the Osprey who also flew CH-53 for the Marine Corps.
The Osprey is ready to take the next step, Schultz said. “Now it’s time to start buying the airplane at an efficient production rate so we can get these airplanes to the fleet a lot sooner.”
The current production rate calls for about 10 aircraft per year. “We are looking at some number of airplanes in ’05 to begin smoothing the production rate, and eventually we want to ramp up to 36 a year,” Schultz said. “When we start buying for all three services we hope to be up to 40-plus a year.”
The Marine Corps is slated to receive a total of 360 MV-22s at a current cost of $68.7 million per aircraft. The program hopes to trim that cost to $58 million per aircraft by fiscal year 2010.
