Navy Aviation: V-22 Development--Schedule Extended, Performance Reduced, and Costs Increased (Letter Report, 01/13/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-44). Major elements of the Navy's V-22 Osprey remain inadequate or untested after eight years of development. In May 1986, the Navy anticipated full-scale development of the V-22 to be completed in June 1992 at a total cost of $1.8 billion. In October 1992, when the full-scale development contract was terminated, the V-22 had been in development for six years at a cost of $2 billion. Even so, the V-22 was more than 3,500 pounds heavier than its specifications called for, which limited its operational capabilities. Design and operational work was not completed on such critical components as the wing, the main landing gear, flight controls, and the rotor drive system. The price tag for purchasing each of the tilt-rotor aircraft, which are designed to take off and land like helicopters and to fly like fixed-wing planes, could reach $64 million. GAO recommends that the Navy use more-realistic capability assumptions in its new cost, operational, and effectiveness analysis of the V-22 variant and the helicopter alternatives. GAO also recommends that if the V-22 variant is chosen as a cost-effective candidate, the Navy eliminate or significantly reduce the overlap in its development and production to ensure that operational requirements are met before procurement funds are requested or a commitment is made to production. --------------------------- Indexing Terms ----------------------------- REPORTNUM: NSIAD-94-44 TITLE: Navy Aviation: V-22 Development--Schedule Extended, Performance Reduced, and Costs Increased DATE: 01/13/94 SUBJECT: Naval aircraft Short takeoff/landing aircraft Vertical takeoff/landing aircraft Helicopters Aircraft research Cost effectiveness analysis Aircraft components Defense capabilities Naval aviation Testing IDENTIFIER: V-22 Aircraft Osprey Aircraft CH-46 Helicopter ************************************************************************ We regret that the full text of this item is presently unavailable. See the GAO FAQ - Section 2.0 for printed copy ordering information. The FAQ is automatically retrieved with all WAIS search results or can be obtained by sending e-mail to: [email protected]