AMARILLO, TEXAS, Jan. 27, 2009 — The Bell Boeing Program Office has announced that it was awarded Phase I of a two-phase Joint Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract from Naval Air Systems Command in support of the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command to support the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The contract award was announced by the U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday, Jan. 22. Phase I of the contract, valued at $581 million, provides integrated logistics support for the V-22 over a five-year period.

The first phase of the V-22 Joint PBL contract includes program management, site activation, maintenance planning and supportability analysis, technical data, in-service engineering and logistics, training and trainer support, support equipment, and dedicated and deployable squadron support. The second phase of the V-22 Joint PBL contract award, expected to be announced in mid-2010, will include supply chain management for the V-22, which encompasses the purchase, repair, stocking and delivery of spare and repair parts.

“The Joint PBL contract represents one more step in the growth and maturity of the V-22 program,” said Gene Cunningham, vice president of the Bell Boeing Program Office in Amarillo. “It responds to the service’s increasing utilization and deployment of the aircraft and enables the V-22 community to ensure that we meet the warfighter’s readiness requirements.”

“Boeing welcomes the opportunity to expand our support to our U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force customers through a Performance Based Logistics contract for the V-22 rotorcraft. We are proud to deliver optimized, bundled capabilities to the warfighter and maximize V-22 readiness,” said Jim O’Neill, vice president and general manager, Integrated Logistics, Boeing Global Services & Support.

The V-22 Joint PBL contract marks the first contract between Bell Boeing and the U.S. Department of Defense with both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force customers served by one contract. PBL contracts allow the customer to purchase performance instead of paying for individual parts or services.

The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft manufactured by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems (NYSE: BA) and Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company. Bell and Boeing are teamed in a Strategic Alliance Agreement for the design, production, and support of the V-22.

Source: Boeing