To understand why the Marines' V-22 Osprey program has survived over the years, it helps to know a little about where the aircraft is built. And that's just about everywhere. The Osprey's two primary contractors are based in Texas and Pennsylvania, and it's no coincidence that lawmakers from those states have been among the biggest champions of the program in Congress. For just one Texas representative, production of the Osprey is now responsible for about 6,500 jobs in her Fort Worth-area district -- a figure that is certain to grow if the military moves ahead with plans to build 458 of the aircraft.

But that's only the beginning.

Since the launch of the $40 billion program nearly two decades ago, the two primary contractors, Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter and Philadelphia-based Boeing Helicopter, have enlisted help from other companies in 45 states to build the Osprey. In all, $12 billion has been spent so far.

The V-22's engine is made at a plant in Indianapolis. Its de-icing system is produced in Connecticut. An auxiliary power unit is made in San Diego. And for a time, the starter on its main engine was manufactured in Rocky Mount, N.C., by Honeywell International. The relatively modest contract steered more than $2 million of work to the district now represented by U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge.

Bell and Boeing have turned over Osprey-related work to companies based in 276 different congressional districts since 1992, according to contractor records. That's 63 percent of all the U.S. House districts in the nation. And in many of them the work is substantial: More than $1 million has flowed thus far to each of 71 districts.

That's no accident, experts say. While work on major defense contracts is often spread around the country, it has been done to a remarkable degree with the V-22.

The contractors say all the help is needed because of the complex, innovative design of the Osprey. But others suggest politics are at work as well.

The Marines and the Osprey's contractors "have gone to great lengths to broaden the potential base of political support for the program," said Chris Jones, a professor at Northern Illinois University who has studied the politics of the V-22 program. "They laid all this groundwork years ago that is continuing to pay off today."

The contractors have also gone to great lengths to reward their friends in Congress with campaign contributions. Over the past decade, political action committees affiliated with Bell and Boeing have collectively given more than $25,000 to 19 different members -- many of them home-town representatives or those with key roles in funding defense projects.

It remains to be seen whether the Osprey's latest troubles -- the December crash in North Carolina and recent allegations of falsified maintenance records -- will doom the V-22.

But its survival thus far offers a classic illustration of how the converging interests -- and political skills -- of military contractors and key members of Congress can create enough momentum to sustain a troubled weapons program.

The V-22 has endured numerous setbacks since its inception in the mid-'80s: scathing audits questioning both its cost and safety, a string of deadly crashes and efforts by Vice President Dick Cheney to kill the program during his days as defense secretary.

Boosters of the Osprey have managed to trump all that with promises of new jobs and arguments about the pressing need for the Marines Corps to replace its aging, Vietnam-era helicopters.

Along the way, proponents of the program have brought others on board by touting the potential commercial applications of the Osprey's tilt-rotor technology, which allows it to fly like a plane but take off and land like a helicopter.

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