LaBarge Wins V-22 Osprey Aircraft Program contract
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April 7, 2009, ST. Louis -- LaBarge, Inc. (NYSE Amex: LB) has received a $5.1 million contract from Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron, Inc., to continue to produce electronic subassemblies for the de-icing system of the V-22 Osprey, a revolutionary military aircraft. LaBarge began producing the V-22 electronics in 2005 and anticipates follow-on orders.
The V-22 combines the speed and range of a fixed wing aircraft with the vertical flight performance of a helicopter. Capable of vertical and short take-offs and landings, the V-22 is a tiltrotor — an aircraft with rotors at the end of each wing that can be oriented vertically for vertical takeoffs and landings, horizontally for forward flight, and positions in between. The V-22 is produced under a strategic alliance between Bell Helicopter and The Boeing Company.
LaBarge expects to begin work on this contract at its Huntsville, Ark., facility in July 2009 and continue through November 2010. (Defpro)
