Bell and Boeing have completed the MV-22 Program of Record for the United States Marine Corps, closing out deliveries of the tiltrotor to the service after 359 aircraft, the companies stated. The Marine Corps operates the largest Osprey fleet of any service, and attention now shifts to sustainment and upgrade work, with the companies saying the Corps expects to keep the type flying until 2055. Eldon Metzger, V-22 programme director at Bell, said in the release that for the Marine Corps the milestone “isn’t an end, it’s a transition to the next chapter”, and that the company is committed to delivering sustainment, readiness and modernisation. Bell and Boeing say Team Osprey draws on more than 500 US-based suppliers across 44 states and some 27,000 employees. The Osprey was the first tiltrotor to enter military service, reaching initial operational capability with the Marine Corps in 2007 after a development history stretching back to the 1980s that included fatal crashes and repeated attempts at cancellation.