Future of tilt-rotor aircraft uncertain despite V-22's successes.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

Only hours after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in April, four Marine Corps V-22 Ospreys based in Okinawa, Japan, were in the air and making their way to the disaster zone with crucial supplies.

A half a world away in Fort Worth, Texas, Bell Helicopter that same month announced a second round of layoffs totaling some 1,415 employees, citing a slowdown in orders for the Osprey along with a waning commercial helicopter market that was supposed to take up the slack.

Despite the good news stories emerging as the aircraft chalks up successes in real-world scenarios, foreign military sales for the Osprey have been lower than anticipated, analysts said, raising questions about how long Bell can keep its factory open. The future of vertical take off and landing aircraft is also murky.

Lt. Gen. Jon M. Davis, Marine Corps deputy commandant of aviation, said the V-22 in the earthquake mission was "a phenomenal capability that we got there very, very quickly."

Once in Nepal, the aircraft flew at an unprecedented 11,000 feet, he said during a speech on Capitol Hill. "They fly 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 miles routinely" when air refueled, he added. Operationally, Marine Corps officials mention speed as one of its most important attributes. The V-22s in Nepal self deployed and were the first on the scene. "They closed in on the objective at 280 miles an hour," Davis said.

Two new customers have emerged that want to take advantage of what the unique aircraft has to offer. The Navy announced plans in January to purchase 44 Ospreys to replace its fleet of C-2 carrier onboard deliver aircraft, which shuttle personnel and supplies between ships at sea.

Then the program scored its first foreign military contract when the Department of State approved the sale of 17 Ospreys to Japan for its Ground Self-Defense Force's humanitarian and disaster relief units.

Despite those headlines, the layoffs continued at the plant where Bell produces the Osprey in partnership with Boeing.

Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group, an aerospace consulting firm, said it is hard to see the V-22 production line moving beyond the early 2020s.

"There are a couple of other customers that might pay the kind of premium we're talking about here, but not many," he said.

The premium being paid for is $70 million per aircraft. What buyers receive in return is speed. The Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command, the program's first two customers, have a need to...