Rolls-Royce has received a new contract for the provision of aftermarket engine support for the US Air Force (USAF) and Marine Corps’ V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft fleets.
Awarded through the company’s MissionCare model, the two-year, $287m contract covers all V-22 aircraft across the USAF and Marine fleets.
It is expected to reduce support costs by approximately 30%.
Rolls-Royce Customer Business senior vice-president Tom Hartmann said: "This new contract demonstrates confidence from V-22 operators that Rolls-Royce will continue to provide outstanding service and capability to the V-22 fleets.
"Operators know they can count on Rolls-Royce to provide the power and support they need to succeed in their missions, while also focusing on increased affordability."
The reduced maintenance costs are claimed to be driven by a significant improvement in engine time on wing.
Since the signing of the original MissionCare contract in 2009, Rolls-Royce has invested $90m in capability and reliability improvements for the AE 1107C engine.
In particular, the company has designed a series of upgrades that augments ‘hot and high’ performance and has added 17% more power to the engine over the original specification.
MissionCare is a Rolls-Royce developed package of services. It encourages the company to design, develop and implement technology and affordability improvements to benefit the customer.
The AE 1107 is a new-generation 6,000shp class turboshaft engine belonging to Rolls-Royce’s AE product family. It consists of a 14-stage compressor followed by an effusion-cooled annular combustor, a two-stage gas generator turbine and a two-stage power turbine.
The powerplant shares a common core with the AE 3007 and AE 2100 engines.
It is housed in V-22’s wing-tip tilting nacelles that enable the distinctive flight characteristics of the aircraft.
The V-22 Osprey is manufactured by Bell-Boeing. It is used by the USAF and the Marine Corps for amphibious assault, combat support, long-range special operations infiltration and exfiltration, transport, search-and-rescue, medical evacuation and fleet logistic support missions.
Image: A close-up of rotor and engine of a US Marine Corps’ MV-22B Osprey aircraft on display at 2006 Farnborough Air Show in UK. Photo: courtesy of MilborneOne.
