Will USMC Pursue Engine Upgrade for V-22?

Analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group interpreted the Marine Corps' comment as putting pressure on Rolls. "When you're in a sole-source situation and you're not happy with the price of spares and durability of spares, the best way to put pressure on the contractor is to imply that there could be competition in the future," Aboulafia said. "If [Rolls] could somehow combine lower cost with higher performance, that might be something [the Marine Corps] would really want, but on the other hand, it's not clear that's what's going on here."