Bell Boeing Submits V-22 Osprey Multiyear II Contract Proposal

The Bell Boeing V-22 Program, a strategic alliance between The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Bell Helicopter – Textron (NYSE: TXT), announced today that it has submitted its proposal to the U.S. government for a second multiyear procurement (MYP II) contract for the production and delivery of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The five-year, fixed price incentive proposal would provide the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) with the full complement of Ospreys outlined in the U.S. Department of Defense program of record and yield double-digit percentage savings over a single-year procurement strategy. In addition, the proposal would fortify Osprey production through 2019.

"Bell Boeing is very pleased to respond to the Navy’s request for proposal for a second multiyear contract for V-22 Osprey production,” said John Rader, Executive Director, Bell Boeing V-22 Program. "In an era that demands greater fiscal responsibility, the MYP II contract would enable us to most-efficiently deliver this revolutionary capability to our customers while generating further savings for the American taxpayer and bringing strength and stability to the industrial base.”

The Bell Boeing V-22 program is presently on-time and under budget in successfully executing its first multiyear procurement contract, which includes fiscal years 2008-2012 and calls for the production of 174 aircraft including 143 MV-22 variants for the Marine Corps and 31 CV-22s for AFSOC. The MYP II proposal includes 122 aircraft (115 MV/ 7 CV) over fiscal years 2013-2017, continuing deliveries through 2019. Bell Boeing now awaits the results of the government’s evaluation of its MYP II proposal.

Ten USMC and five AFSOC V-22 Squadrons are operational today and the two services have together logged sixteen successful combat, humanitarian, ship-based and special operations deployments since 2007. The worldwide Osprey fleet has amassed more than 115,000 flight hours, with nearly half of those hours coming in the past two years alone.

Safety, survivability and mission efficiency have become hallmarks of the operational fleet. According to Naval Safety Center records, the MV-22 has had the lowest Class A mishap rate of any tactical rotorcraft in the Marine Corps during the past decade. Further, Fiscal Year 2010 Navy flight-hour cost data also show that the Osprey has the lowest cost per seat-mile (cost to transport one person over a distance of one mile) of any U.S. Navy transport rotorcraft.

The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft using tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight.

More than 145 Osprey tiltrotors are currently in operation. Marine Corps MV-22s are currently deployed in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting contingency operations, while AFSOC CV-22s are deployed once again in support of ongoing Special Operations missions.

About Bell Helicopter-Textron:

Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global work force serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries. Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.

About Boeing Defense, Space & Security:

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Changing priorities or reductions in the U.S. Government defense budget, including those related to military operations in foreign countries;
• Changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates;
• Our ability to perform as anticipated and to control costs under contracts with the U.S. Government;
• The U.S. Government’s ability to unilaterally modify or terminate its contracts with us for the U.S. Government’s convenience or for our failure to perform, to change applicable procurement and accounting policies, or, under certain circumstances, to suspend or debar us as a contractor eligible to receive future contract awards;
• Performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners; and
• The risk that the proposal will not be accepted and no contract will be awarded to Bell Boeing.