"We're fully pursuing a second multiyear on the V-22," Boeing V-22 Program Manager Gene Cunningham said during a news conference at a Navy League-sponsored conference in Maryland, the Navy Times reported.

"We're working with our industry partners to put together the right business case" so the offer could be considered for the 2013 budget.

The deal was announced as the U.S. Department of Defense said it was pleased with the performance with the V-22 aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like a plane, although it was seeking to improve its readiness.

The aircraft was observed to have a readiness level of 68 percent in Iraq but the goal, Pentagon officials say, is to improve that to more than 80 percent by 2018.

Cunningham didn't disclose the number of aircraft that would be built but said the deal would involve at least seven Air Force planes.

Boeing is already in the third year of a five-year contract for the V-22.

The V-22 program was nearly scrapped after a number of deadly accidents that occurred during its development. Since then, experts have upgraded its unusual capabilities although the Air Force is continuing its investigation of a V-22 crash in Afghanistan, that killed four people in April.

As part of the revised deal, Boeing's V-22 program will also meet the Pentagon's request for the V-XX Navy for a new presidential helicopter.

Continued procurement, said Marine Corps Col. Greg Masiello, sends "a message on how confident we are on this platform," the Navy Times reported.

He said 106 aircraft had been delivered to the Air Force under the first deal, and two more were en route, as the government was also striving to lower costs on the plane in separate deals with contractors.

Cunningham said that foreign interest in the aircraft was also picking up as the plane was being used for military work.

Boeing said it was also working with suppliers to redesign some parts that are wearing out faster than expected in harsh operating environments.

Boeing's rotor aircraft is a joint project with Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. The Ridley plant manufactures the fuselage, empennage and all subsystems, digital avionics and fly-by-wire flight-control systems. Bell builds the wing, transmissions and rotor systems and is responsible for the engine installation and final assembly at its plant in Amarillo, Texas.

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