The U.S. Air Force is considering an acceleration of CV-22 buys potentially to send them to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a defense official close to the program.

The acceleration could add up to three aircraft annually, boosting the total number as high as nine per year. The proposal was part of the U.S. Air Force’s Fiscal 2010 budget plan, which is now being reviewed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and will be sent to Congress in February.

The initial operational test and evaluation phase for the CV-22 is complete and a formal report is due out by October. Some tweaks are expected, most likely for the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures and its jamming capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is getting about 70% mission capable rate for the MV-22 during seven months of operation in western Iraq, according to Lt. Gen. George Trautman, deputy commandant for aviation.

The V-22 program office at NAS Patuxent River, MD, is continuing talks with Rolls Royce about how to improve the power-by-the-hour contract. Modeled after C-130 usage patterns, the arrangement is preventing Rolls from making money on the deal. Options range from adjustments to the existing deal’s structure to looking at new engines, though a program official says a new propulsion system is the “least likely” option.