The secretary of the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) Gordon England flew for the first time on the V-22 Osprey (news - web sites) on August 11, 2004 and proclaimed the problem-plagued tilt-rotor aircraft sound, but said its cost must come down. The Osprey, is being built by Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.'s Bell unit and has faced close scrutiny by Pentagon (news - web sites) officials and Congress since two crashes in 2000 killed 23 Marines. The current price tag for one Osprey is $73.3 million, with a target to chop it to $58 million by the 2010 fiscal year. The Pentagon is budgeted to buy 458 of them, with 360 for the Marines, 50 for Special Operations Command and 48 for the Navy. Investigators look through the wreckage of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft in this file photo from April 9, 2000 that crashed at Avra Valley Regional Airport late April 8, 2000. All 19 U.S. Marines on board the new-technology military airplane were killed in the incident. REUTERS/Jeff Topping/File
An X-45A unmanned jet, bottom, is shown flying in formation with an F-18 chase aircraft during a GPS-guided weapons demonstration flight on April 18, 2004. Two X-45As made a coordinated flight under the control of a single pilot-operator, Boeing researchers said Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004. The joint flight marked the first time such a feat was accomplished, according to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems of St. Louis. (AP Photo/NASA (news - web sites), Jim Ross)
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