Norfolk, Va. – The Navy is expected to announce today that it will purchase 99 V-22 Ospreys for $6.5 billion.
The five-year contract will run through 2017, with an option for 22 more Ospreys according to DOD Buzz.
The aircraft takes off and lands like a helicopter, yet flies like a fixed-wing plane.
James O’Donnell, a spokesman for the V-22 Joint Program Office at Naval Air Systems Command, said the order will include 92 MV-22 Ospreys for the Marine Corps and seven CV-22 versions for the Air Force, with advanced radars and extra fuel tanks for Special Forces operations.
The five-year bulk order was expected to save $1 billion over buying the Ospreys individually, O’Donnell said.
