Bell-Boeing cinches V-22 contract with Japan.

• Author: Feuss, Taylor
• Position: Global Defense

* The U.S. Navy awarded Bell-Boeing, a joint venture between Bell Helicopter and Boeing, a contract to deliver five V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to Japan by 2018, the company announced in July.

The contract marked the first international sale of the aircraft through the U.S. government's foreign military sales program, said Vince Tobin, vice president and program director for the V-22 program at Bell Helicopter.

"We're very excited, [and] very thrilled that we have our first international customer," he told National Defense. "It was not necessarily a surprise, but it's great to have it actually in writing and moving out."

The V-22, a fixed-wing helicopter hybrid, will enhance Japan's ground self-defense force capabilities, while providing an ideal platform for relief efforts in response to natural disasters, Tobin said.

Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based defense and aerospace analysis firm, said the aircraft would give Japan more power projection and regional influence in an area where many countries, like China, may pose a threat.

"Japan is primarily a defensive nation and will use these systems to secure its vital interests and national territory," he added.

The aircraft will be slightly modified to fit Japan's...