House subcommittee mark approves seven-year V-22 buy

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee has approved a seven-year V-22 multiyear procurement contract with a caveat: the aircraft must include common configuration improvements.

The Navy's fiscal year 2018 budget request anticipates buying 53 V-22s between FY-18 and FY-22 for $4.4 billion. The Navy and Marine Corps have a requirement to purchase 461 V-22s. Last year, the services told Congress another 82 aircraft have yet to be purchased.

The V-22 multiyear contact will yield the Pentagon about a 9.4 percent cost savings, according to a House Armed Services Committee aide.

The common configuration readiness and modernization plan, also known as CCRAM, will begin by taking 129 legacy V-22 Ospreys in the Block B model and upgrade them to the Block C design. Last year, the Marine Corps conducted an analysis that revealed there are more than 75 different Osprey configurations throughout the fleet.