Pentagon spends about $300 million on a V-22 engine tuneup

Rolls-Royce Corp. landed $287.03 million for maintenance of the engine used to power the V-22 Osprey — the tiltrotor aircraft from The Boeing Co. and Bell Helicopter that takes off and lands like a helicopter.

The maintenance service contract includes an hourly charge based on hours flown, as well as program management, integrated logistics support, training and various other maintenance. The work will support the Navy's Marine Corps, making up about 48 percent of the buy, the U.S. Air Force, accounting for about 43 percent, and the U.S. Special Operations Command for the remaining 9 percent.

This is a big win for Rolls-Royce, which has a North American headquarters in Reston. It comes only a few weeks after its British parent announced plans to cut about 2,600 jobs worldwide.

So what's cool about how the engine functions in this aircraft? Boeing describes it this way: Once airborne, the nacelle that holds the engine can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight.

This win could be followed by some international opportunities as well. On Friday, Japan's defense ministry announced its decision to buy V-22 Osprey, with no details on the size of the expected order revealed. That follows traction for the aircraft stemming from U.S. officials showcasing it to foreign nations, including Saudi Arabia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Italy, Brazil and others. Israel is already signed on to buy some of the aircraft.

As the exclusive engine provider for the V-22, that's all good news for Rolls-Royce.

- Source:  http://www.bizjournals.com