V-22 rendering courtesy of Bell-Boeing
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) earlier this year released their proposed Fiscal Year 2016 budget that included military construction for Pax River and funding for 24 of the first 44 V-22 aircraft.
According to Pax River Public Affairs Officer Connie Hempel, $40.9 million of “unaccompanied housing” is slated to be built on the site of the former Chaffee Court Housing at the corner of Buse and Cuddihy roads, close to the Navy Exchange and the Commissary.
Hempel further noted, “The four-story facility is for junior enlisted unaccompanied personnel assigned here in pay grades E-1 to E-4 and it will comprise of 89 two-bedroom units that meet market style apartment modules, which include sleeping and living areas, a kitchen, bathrooms, closets and in-module laundry facilities. It will also include administrative offices and a common area space, as well as surface parking, an outdoor basketball court and a picnic area with gazebo for its residents. Once this housing facility is complete, seven existing Unaccompanied Housing facilities that are currently in Accident Potential Zone (APZ) 1 will be demolished.”
Six of the unaccompanied quarters are located on Buse Road and one is located off of Arnold Circle.
The new unaccompanied housing design will include Sustainable Design/LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) and it will be registered with U.S. Green Building Council and shall achieve LEED Silver certification.
The design Request for Proposal is expected to be issued November 2015.
During the budget briefing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget Rear Adm. William K. Lescher discussed the “FY ’18 to FY ’20, request to fund the first 24 of 44 total Navy variant V-22s, to replace the C-2 carrier on-board delivery aircraft.”
The first eight tilt-rotor aircraft will be in the FY2018 budget request with deliveries expected to begin in 2020.
In published reports, the Navy chose to bypass the traditional aircraft selection competition process and purchase the Navy variant V-22 that will replace the Grumman C-2 Carrier On Board Delivery (COD) aircraft under an existing $6.5 billion five-year contract that the company signed with the Marine Corps in 2013. They determined that was the better choice than Northrop Grumman’s recommendation to remanufacture the existing fleet of 35 C-2 Greyhound cargo aircraft.
According to the NAVAIR V-22 Joint Program Office (PMA-272) Public Affairs Officer Billy Ray Brown, “The Navy variant V-22 will be a baseline MV-22 with three modifications required by the Navy that are specific to the COD mission. The cost for a baseline MV-22 is approximately $71 million per aircraft. The eventual cost for the Navy variant of the V-22 will increase to include the cost of the three modifications. The three modifications are 1) extended range; 2) high frequency radio; and 3) a public address system.”
Brown added, “These three modifications have not yet been designed for the Navy variant.”
When asked about the extended range modification in terms of whether the aircraft carry more fuel in enlarge sponsons like the Navy’s MH-53E, Brown noted, “Today, all V-22 aircraft can refuel in flight. This is separate from the Navy requirement for extended range. The solution to meet the extended range requirement for the Navy variant has not been finalized.”
Most media outlets have been reporting the Navy variant V-22 will be HV-22, however Brown stated, “There has been no specific designation at this point.”
The Navy variant V-22s will be assigned to Norfolk-based VRC-40 and Naval Air Station North Island-based VRC-30.
Contact Mike Wilson at news@thebaynet.com