Pratt & Whitney Awarded $194M F135 Long-Lead Production Contract

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Pratt & Whitney a $194,097,296 long-lead production contract for F135 engines to power the F-35 Lightning II. The low rate initial production (LRIP) contract covers long-lead materials for the sixth lot of F135 engines, and provides Pratt & Whitney the ability to start procuring long-lead items for production engines.

The sixth lot calls for 37 install engines, including 18 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) engines for the U.S. Air Force; seven carrier variant (CV) engines for the U.S. Navy; six short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion systems for the U.S. Marine Corps; four CTOL engines for the Italian Air Force; and two CTOL engines for The Royal Australian Air Force. The main engines deliveries in LRIP 6 are slated to begin in June 2013.

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Related item:

• Blumenthal, Larson, Courtney Announce $194 Million Contract for Pratt & Whitney (Office of Sen. Richard Blumenthal)

Coverage:

• Pratt wins $194 million for early work on F-35 engines (Reuters)
• Pratt Gets $194M Navy Contract For F-35 Engine Parts (Hartford Courant)
• Agreement reached on F-35 engines (UPI)
• Pratt & Whitney Wins Contract for F-35 Engines (Defense News)
• Pratt & Whitney Wins $194M Contract for F-35 Engines (Defense World)
• Pratt & Whitney secures $194 mill contract (WTNH-TV)
• Pratt lands $194M jet fighter contract (Hartford Business Journal)
  

Hartford Business: Engine Alliance President on a Mission

The Hartford Business Journal has named Engine Alliance President Mary Ellen Jones to its list of "5 To Watch In 2012" for her role on the Connecticut Airport Authority Board of Directors. Jones, who is chairwoman of the CAA, aims to transform Bradley International Airport.

Read the full story in the Hartford Business Journal.

Bangalore Aviation: PurePower Engine is 'Aviation Technology of the Year'

Bangalore Aviation named the Pratt & Whitney PurePower Engine its "Aviation Technology of the Year" for 2011.

Bangalore Aviation writes:

" ... no new technology has been as influential as the Geared TurboFan (GTF) offered by Pratt & Whitney on its new PurePower PW1000G series of engines to be used on aircraft such as the Bombardier CSeries, the Irkut MS-21, and the Airbus A320neo family."

Click here to read the full post.

United Technologies Corp. Chairman and CEO Louis Chênevert Named Person of the Year by Aviation Week

From an Aviation Week press release:

Aviation Week has selected Louis R. Chênevert, chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), parent company to aerospace giants Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Hamilton Sundstrand, as its 2011 Person of the Year. With a series of bold — and surprising — deals, Chênevert ensured Pratt & Whitney's resurgence, while reinvigorating UTC as a force to be reckoned with in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industries. Complete coverage of the Person of the Year is included in a cover story in this week's Aviation Week & Space Technology.

"The sum of Louis Chênevert's achievements will reverberate for many years to come," said Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., editorial director of Aviation Week and editor-in-chief of Aviation Week & Space Technology. "He is the person who had the most impact on the industry in 2011."

Click here to read the full press release. Click here to read the Aviation Week cover story.

Coverage:

• UTC's Chênevert Named "Person Of The Year" By Aviation Week (Hartford Courant)
• Louis R. Chênevert named Person of the Year by Aviation Week (Montreal Gazette)
  

Pratt & Whitney Awarded Contract for F135 Engine Production Worth Up To $1.12B

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Pratt & Whitney an undefinitized contract award (UCA) not to exceed $1,122,306,649 for F135 production engines to power the F-35 Lightning II. Pratt & Whitney and the DoD have reached a tentative agreement on key terms for the low rate initial production (LRIP) 5 contract which contains fixed-price and cost-plus incentive fee elements. A total of $358,597,078 is being obligated at time of award, in addition to the $138,800,000 obligated in 2011 for advanced acquisition materials. This LRIP contract includes production engines, spare parts, program management, engineering support for production, sustainment and field support for the F135 engines.

The fifth lot of engines includes 21 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) engines for the U.S. Air Force; six carrier variant (CV) engines for the U.S. Navy; and three short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion systems for the U.S. Marine Corps. The engines in LRIP 5 will support the U.S. Services with main engine deliveries slated to begin in late-2012.

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt & Whitney Wins New JSF Contract Worth Up To $1.1 Billion (Hartford Courant)
• United Technologies Scores a Billion Dollar Contract (Wall Street Cheat Sheet)
• United Technologies Unit Awarded Department of Defense Contract Valued at Up to $1.12 Billion (Financial News Network)
• Pratt & Whitney Awarded $1 Billion Engine Deal for F-35 (Aviation Today)
  

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne: Smoke and Fire

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne powered 14 successful launches during 2011. Payloads included humans, cargo and satellites vital to space exploration, worldwide communication, navigation, defense, research and development and weather prediction.

You can view highlights from each launch in the video embedded in this post.

Japanese Ministry of Defense Announces Plans to Purchase F-35 Aircraft

The Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa has announced the selection of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the F-X program. The F-35 is produced by Lockheed Martin and powered by Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine. The announcement includes 42 installed engines, spare engines and a logistics support program.

The Japanese government’s decision to select the F-35 Lightning II as the Japan Air Self Defense Force’s (JASDF) next-generation fighter makes Japan the second country to receive the F-35 through the United States government’s Foreign Military Sales process, and the 13th F-35 customer.

“We are honored to be part of the Japanese F135-powered F-35 selection and look forward to supporting the Japan Air Self Defense Force and Japanese aerospace industry,” said Bennett Croswell, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. “This program selection builds on the strong relationship Pratt & Whitney has with JASDF and Japanese industry over the past 30 years on the F100 engine powering their F-15 fighters.”

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt Wins Japanese Military Contract (Hartford Courant)
• Japan Picks Lockheed to Build Its Next Fighter Jet (New York Times)
• U.S. F-35 picked as mainstay fighter (Japan Times)
• Japan Fighter Buy Bolsters U.S. Leverage In Asia (Forbes)
• Lockheed hopes to press F-35 momentum (DoD Buzz)
• Japan picks Lockheed F-35 fighter as allies stress tight ties (Reuters)
• Lockheed Martin Wins Japan Order for 42 F-35 Fighter Planes (Bloomberg)
• Lockheed Lightning II Strikes in Tokyo (Aviation Week)
• Japan selects troubled F-35 as new fighter jet (AFP)
• Japan chooses Lockheed's F-35 as its next-generation fighter (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
• Japan swoops for F-35, shoots down Typhoon, F/A-18E/F (Flight International)
  

Pratt & Whitney Receives Engine Contract for Boeing C-17s Sold to India

Pratt & Whitney recently received a contract to produce the first four F117-PW-100 engines that will power the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III for the Indian Air Force. The engines will be delivered in second quarter of 2012. Earlier this year, India’s Ministry of Defence signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the U.S. government to acquire 10 C-17s. India will take delivery of its first C-17s in early 2013.

Four F117s provide exclusive power for the C-17 Globemaster III -- the world’s premier heavy airlifter. The F117-PW-100 is the sister engine of Pratt & Whitney’s PW2037 commercial engine powering the Boeing 757. With more than 50 million hours of proven military and commercial use, the F117/PW2037 has consistently proven itself as a world-class dependable engine. Pratt & Whitney’s ongoing investment in product improvements has enabled the engine to continuously surpass established goals for time on wing, in-flight shut downs and support turnaround time.

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt Gets Engine Order For Indian C-17s (Aviation Week)
• Pratt’s cargo-jet engines for India’s air force (Hartford Business Journal)
• Pratt & Whitney bags IAF engine contract for Boeing C-17s (Economic Times)
• P&W wins deal for engines in C-17 plane for India (Top News)
• P&W engines for India's C-17s (UPI)
  

Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1100G-JM Engines Selected for JetBlue’s Airbus A320neo Aircraft Family

JetBlue Airways has selected Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engines to power its order of 40 firm A320neo family aircraft. The MOU includes 86 PurePower engines with a long-term PureSolution(SM) maintenance service agreement. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2018.

Each JetBlue Airbus A320neo family aircraft will be powered by two PurePower PW1100G-JM engines with benefits including double-digit reductions in fuel burn, environmental emissions, engine noise and operating costs when compared with today's engines.

Click here to read JetBlue's press release. Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• JetBlue to Buy Pratt Engines Valued at $1.03 Billion (Bloomberg)
• Jetblue orders 86 Pratt engines for Airbus jets (Reuters)
• JetBlue Opts For PW1100G Geared Turbofan (Aviation Week)

NASA: J-2X Combustion Stability Test a Success

The J-2X rocket engine passed its first combustion stability test on Dec. 1, according to NASA. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is developing the J-2X engine, which has been selected by NASA as an upper-stage engine for the Space Launch System (SLS).

Coverage:

• NASA Fires Up Engine for Giant New Rocket (SPACE.com)