Osprey Program Gets Praise From Pentagon

Boeing Co. and Textron Inc. appear to be solving the problems that caused test versions of the V-22 Osprey aircraft to crash twice in 2000, killing 23 Marines, the Pentagon’s testing chief says.

The Osprey -- a fixed-wing plane with rotors that tilt so the craft can take off and land like a helicopter -- has been on probation. The report by Thomas Christie, the Pentagon’s director of operational testing and evaluation, is good news for the program, which ultimately calls for 458 aircraft at a cost of $46 billion.

Christie’s assessment goes to the Defense Acquisition Board, which meets today to decide if there has been enough progress to justify increasing production from 11 aircraft next year to as many as 19 in 2006 and 39 by 2009.