Pratt & Whitney's Fifth Generation Propulsion Systems Set Standard for Safety, Performance and Reliability

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW -- Pratt & Whitney's fifth generation family of propulsion systems have achieved numerous milestones in 2010, continuing to set the standard for military jet engine safety, reliability and performance. Pratt & Whitney is the only engine manufacturer producing and delivering fifth generation propulsion capability to the customer, including the F135 engine powering the F-35 Lightning II and the F119 engine, powering the F-22 Raptor, which is showcased at this year's Farnborough Air Show. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"This has been a year of achievement for Pratt & Whitney's fifth generation propulsion systems," said Bennett Croswell, Vice President of F119 and F135 engine programs. "The F119 has surpassed 300,000 hours, providing a proven, reliable, mature core for the F135. In addition, the F135 continues its steady progress towards completion of development and test with successful short-take off and vertical landing operations accomplished earlier this year and STOVL (short take-off vertical land) Initial Service Release scheduled for fourth quarter this year."

In addition to surpassing the 300,000 hour milestone, the F119 engine program recently celebrated their first F119 engine to reach full-life demonstration. This achievement represents the first time an F119 engine has completed 8650 total accumulated cycles, or TACs, successfully meeting all specification targets and end-of-life performance objectives.

"The core of the F135 engine powering the F-35 is being matured and proven in the twin engine F-22," Croswell said. "With 300,000 accumulated hours, we are able to leverage the maturity and learning from the F119 core into the F135 propulsion system for the single-engine F-35."

The F135 engine program has celebrated several successes of its own recently with the successful first flight of the F-35 Lightning II Carrier Variant, as well as first supersonic flight of the F-35 STOVL variant. The engine is also steadily progressing in production.

"Pratt & Whitney has delivered the first six production quality F135 engines to the customer with 15 more deliveries scheduled for this year," Croswell said. "In addition, the first production F135 engine has been installed in the first production F-35 aircraft. All these milestones put the program one step closer to being in the hands of our customer, the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as our allied partners."

The F135 propulsion system, is the only engine currently powering the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The common technology derived from the proven F119 offers a significant advantage to the F135 with respect to maturity and single engine safety.

Two F119 engines power the F-22 Raptor, delivering unparalleled aircraft maneuverability and unmatched operational performance and reliability. The F119 features an unrivaled combination of stealth technologies and vectored thrust with high thrust-to-weight performance. The F-22's ability to operate supersonically without afterburner, known as supercruise, gives the F-22 exceptional combat performance without compromising mission range.

For nine years and more than 17,600 test hours, Pratt & Whitney has been designing, developing and testing the F135 to deliver the most advanced fifth generation fighter engine for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as eight international partner countries.  

The F135 propulsion system powers the F-35 Lightning II and has proven it can meet diverse aircraft requirements.  The ground and flight test experience demonstrates the maturity and the associated reliability of the F135 engine for armed forces around the world.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the operational prospects for certain engines and, accordingly, the potential for future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in the USAF's funding related to the F-22 aircraft and F119 engines, F-35 and F135 programs, changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corporation's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney

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