ATEC Completes Second Test, Achieves Key Milestone on New Helicopter Engine

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Advanced Turbine Engine Company (ATEC), LLC - a joint venture between Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE: HON) and Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) – has successfully completed testing of its second HPW3000 engine as part of the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate's (AATD) Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine (AATE) Science and Technology program. 

ATEC intends to offer the HPW3000 as a solution to replace the existing engines on U.S. Army Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. The HPW3000 engine offers dramatic improvements in performance, energy-efficiency and protection for soldiers over the current engine – and would save billions of dollars in government costs on fuel, operations and maintenance.

The U.S. Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), the follow-on to the AATE program, is an effort to develop and field a new helicopter engine that provides a 50 percent increase in power, a 25 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, and significant reductions in operating and support costs. ITEP is intended to fit the existing installations of the Black Hawk and Apache, enabling both platforms to fly farther, stay on station longer, and use less fuel than currently fielded engines. Black Hawk and Apache helicopters comprise approximately 75 percent of the Army's helicopter fleet. ITEP is essential to ensuring these helicopters remain mission capable worldwide for the next 30 years or more.

"The second engine test ran extremely well and we are confident our solution will meet and exceed the Army's current and future needs. Being able to validate ITEP's goals in performance, endurance, and particularly sand ingestion is a great achievement," said Craig Madden, president, ATEC.  "From the warfighter's perspective, the promise of the HPW3000 means Black Hawks and Apaches would be able to fly higher, longer, and farther than ever before."

"The inherent advantage of our two spool architecture in the HPW3000 means that it is optimized for engine performance, durability, and fuel savings, while retaining all of the modular maintainability features that the Army needs in the field," said Jerry Wheeler, vice president, ATEC.  "With built-in power growth capability the HPW3000 can meet the needs of the Black Hawk and Apache for decades to come, and the HPW3000 is designed to support the Army's future rotorcraft propulsion needs as well."

"The HPW3000 translates into a direct impact on fuel savings and a significant reduction in operating and support costs. That adds up to $1 billion yearly total cost savings over the current engine," Madden added. "The sooner these improved engines are fielded, the sooner Army Aviation will have increased capability and flexibility in the field, and at a much lower cost. ATEC and the HPW3000 are meeting the Army's goals now, and we are ready to deliver."

ATEC, a joint venture between Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney, has brought together the world-class engineering, manufacturing, and production capabilities of two industry-leading companies to build the most advanced and fuel efficient 3,000 shaft horsepower turbine engine.

To learn more about ATEC and the HPW3000 engine, visit Booth #6729 during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held Oct. 13-15 in Washington, D.C., or follow ATEC on Twitter or Facebook.

Matthew Bates
Mobile: +1-860-371-9857
[email protected]

Nathan Drevna
Mobile: +1-202-412-6640
[email protected]

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney