Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT) announced today the appointment of Michael “Willy” D. Andersen as Vice President and Program Director for of the V-22 Osprey and deputy director of the Bell-Boeing Program office. In this dual role, Andersen will report directly to Mitch Snyder, executive vice president of military programs at Bell Helicopter and to John Rader, executive director of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Program.

“With his proven record, I have complete confidence that Willy will be able to add immediate value to the V-22 program by strengthening our existing relationships and building future Osprey capability,” said Mitch Snyder executive Vice president. “Willy is a highly respected military leader. His experience will make a strong contribution as our V-22 Vice President and Program Director.”
Andersen is a retired Air Force Colonel with 27 years of service and a unique blend of experiences in product development and business operations, having directed and managed product portfolios for aircraft, weapons, avionics and cyber and international sales.

“We welcome Willy to the Bell Boeing team and look forward to drawing on his leadership and experience as we continue to deliver one of the safest, most cost effective and most capable military aircraft in the world,” said Rader.

In his new role, Andersen will represent Bell Helicopter in all Bell-Boeing Program Office (BBPO) decisions and initiatives, working directly with customers and Boeing in the overall contracting and execution of the program.

“I’m very excited to be joining Bell Helicopter to help lead the V-22 program,” said Andersen. “The Osprey is a revolutionary aircraft that has unmatched speed and range compared to other rotorcraft. I’m looking forward to being part of this cutting edge program.”

During his Air Force career, Andersen served as Director, Chief Engineer and Deputy Lead for Mission Systems for the F-35, Squadron Commander, Operations Officer, Flight Test Engineer, and Chief Engineer and at Air Force installations across the country as well as Air Force Deputy Division Chief at the Pentagon.

The worldwide Osprey fleet has amassed more than 115,000 flight hours, with nearly half of those hours coming in the past two years alone. Ten USMC and five AFSOC V-22 Squadrons are operational today and according to Naval Safety Center records, the MV-22 has had the lowest Class A mishap rate of any tactical rotorcraft in the Marine Corps during the past decade.
The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft using tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight.