Boeing

In a ribbon cutting ceremony today, a new V-22 Logistics Support Facility (VLSF) officially opened at the Craven County Industrial Park to provide interim logistics support for the V-22 Osprey aircraft.

The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft developed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron and The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA]. The new support center will ensure the V-22 meets the readiness requirements of the fleet. Long term support for the V-22 will be provided via a public-private partnership between the Naval Air (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point and the Bell-Boeing team.

"Developed and operated by the Bell-Boeing V-22 team, the VLSF facility provides an opportunity to establish a partnership with the Craven County Economic Development Commission and the Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot," said Thomas Ryan, Boeing Special Operations Forces Site Leader for Logistics Support Systems.

The New Bern VLSF is an important first step in the development of a long-term commitment to V-22 support in eastern North Carolina. The region is vital to the V-22 because of the NAVAIR Depot Cherry Point and the test and operational squadrons that will be home based at MCAS New River, south of Jacksonville. The first of those squadrons, the U.S. Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX-22), is already operating at MCAS New River.

The facility also will provide an early opportunity to establish a public-private partnership with the NAVAIR Depot at Cherry Point. Teams from Cherry Point and Bell-Boeing have spent the past several years developing performance-based support concepts and tasking agreements. The opening of the VLSF initiates the transformation of those concepts into reality.

The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft combining the speed and range of fixed wing aircraft with the vertical flight performance of a helicopter. With its engine nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter, but once airborne its engine nacelles can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight.

Earlier this month, VMX-22 held a media day to share highlights of the recently completed the MV-22 operational test and evaluation, a critical step leading to a full-rate production decision. Media attending the event were some of the first non-government personnel to fly on board a V-22.