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Bell-Boeing Secures Contract to Aid MV-22 Osprey Aircraft Program

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Bell-Boeing, a joint venture (JV) between The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) and Bell Helicopter — a unit of Textron Inc. (TXT - Free Report) — recently secured a contract involving the MV-22 Osprey aircraft. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD, has awarded the deal.

Details of the Deal

Valued at $21.4 million, the contract is expected to be completed by June 2027. Per the terms of the deal, Bell-Boeing will be engaged in the production and delivery of 59 line clearance kits, 18 integrated aircraft survivability equipment (IASE) A-Kits, and the installation of 16 IASE A-Kits for the MV-22 Osprey jets.

The aforementioned equipment will allow increased infrared countermeasure as well as radar warning capability and aircraft survivability to support the MV-22 Osprey aircraft sustainment efforts.

Growing Jet Demand & V-22 Jets

A rapid increase in terror attacks has compelled nations to strengthen their arsenal and bump up their defense budget. With the United States being the largest exporter of defense equipment across the world, there is a steady flow of contracts for its combat-proven weaponry from both Pentagon and its foreign allies. With military jets and helicopters constituting a major portion of a nation’s armaments, there is a steady flow of contracts for these.

Bell-Boeing’s primary product, V-22 Osprey, is a family of multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical as well as short takeoff and landing capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. Notably, the MV-22 is a variant of the V-22 family of jets that serves the U.S. Marine Corps and can carry 24 combat-equipped Marines and operate from ship or shore.

Considering these features of the aforementioned family of tiltrotors and the growing demand for military aircraft, V-22 and its variants enjoy decent demand across the globe. The latest contract win is a bright example of that.

Growth Prospects

Per a forecast made by Mordor Intelligence, the global military aviation market size is projected to register a CAGR of 7.37% during the 2023-2028 period. This surely is going to benefit major U.S. combat aircraft manufacturers like Textron, Boeing, Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) and Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) , with North America dominating this market space.

Lockheed is one of the pioneers in the combat aircraft space, with its product portfolio constituting some of the most advanced military aircraft like F-35, C-130, F-16, F-22 and a few more. Of these, F-35 is the company’s largest program.

LMT boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.6%. The stock has gained 11.2% in the past three months.

On the other hand, Northrop is a renowned manufacturer of autonomous and manned aircraft like MQ-4C Triton and Global Hawk. These jets are used for battle management, strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Northrop boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 2.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC’s 2023 sales indicates an improvement of 6.6% from the 2022 reported figure.

Price Movement & Zacks Rank

Textron’s shares have risen 13.5% in the past year against the industry’s 6.2% decline. Boeing’s shares have rallied 36.8% in the past year.

Zacks Investment Research
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Both Boeing and Textron currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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