The Defense Department recently awarded Rolls-Royce a contract worth potentially $598 million to put the company’s AE1107C engines on the Marine Corps and Air Force V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, a company spokesman said.
The first year of the contract calls for Rolls-Royce to deliver 70 engines worth a combined $151 million, according to a statement. The contract also includes four additional option years, and if all are exercised, the company will deliver a total of 268 engines, including spares, at a value of $598 million.
The contract begins late 2013, a spokesman said.
Rolls-Royce is the sole manufacturer of V-22 engines and has delivered 550 AE1107C engines to the Defense Department. The V-22 is a Bell Helicopter [TXT]-Boeing [BA] venture.
The AE1107C turboshaft engine helps provide unique capability for the V-22, allowing the tilt-rotor aircraft to take off and land like a helicopter and to rotate its engines forward to fly like an airplane, according to a statement.