The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) awarded the Bell Boeing team a five-year contract on June 12 to supply 99 V-22 Osprey tiltrotors. The second multiyear procurement (MYPII) contract, with an earlier $1.4 billion contract award in December, has a total value of $6.5 billion. It specifies 92 MV-22s for the Marine Corps and seven CV-22s for the Air Force for delivery through September 2019.

Bell Boeing said the contract is structured to provide nearly $1 billion in savings when compared with single-year procurement contracts. It includes an option for up to 23 additional aircraft.

Navair awarded Bell Boeing the first multiyear contract in 2008, covering aircraft purchases from fiscal years 2008 through 2012. The five-year, $10.4 billion contract specified 141 MV-22s for the Marines and 26 CV-22s for the Air Force Special Operations Command.

There are currently 214 V-22 Ospreys in operation. They have accumulated 200,000 flight hours, with more than half of those hours logged in the past three years, Navair said. Israel has also requested V-22s as part of a U.S. foreign military sale and would be the first foreign country to acquire the tiltrotor assuming the package is approved.

Marine Corps Colonel Greg Masiello, V-22 program manager with Navair’s PMA 275 joint program office, said the V-22 has been continuously deployed since 2007 for combat, special operations and humanitarian purposes.

“Signing this contract speaks volumes toward the confidence our services have in the V-22 Osprey,” Masiello said. “Ospreys continue to transform our Marine Corps air ground task force and Air Force Special Operations by enabling missions not possible with conventional aircraft. The V-22 has helped save lives where others could not.”