Pratt & Whitney F117 Engines Surpass 10 Million Flight Hours on C-17 Fleet

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney's F117 engine, the exclusive power for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter, recently exceeded 10 million engine flight hours. At the same time, the C-17 exceeded 2.5 million flight hours while supporting military and humanitarian mission in support of U.S. and allied troops around the globe. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"This milestone is a testament to the reliability of the F117 engine," said Bev Deachin, vice president, Military Programs and Customer Support, Pratt & Whitney.  "The exceptional performance of our engines – in some of the harshest conditions – has helped the C-17 Globemaster III save countless lives in military, humanitarian and disaster relief missions around the world."

Since 2006, Pratt & Whitney's F117 engines have accumulated more than six million flight hours in support of worldwide air mobility missions. To put this in perspective, it took 13 years of operational service for the engine to reach its first four million flight-hour milestone. This statistic reflects the C-17's increased workload over the past several years.

At the same time that the F117 has achieved 10 million flight hours, the company is also celebrating with Boeing 15 years of successful partnership on the performance-based logistics contract for the C-17.

"Through Pratt & Whitney's ongoing investment in product improvements and industry partnerships the engine continuously surpasses established goals of time on-wing and support turnaround time," said Deachin. "The F117 engine can remain on-wing for up to eight years between servicing visits, which lowers maintenance costs and provides outstanding mission readiness for C-17 customers."

The C-17 Globemaster III – the world's premier heavy airlifter – is operated by four F117 engines, each rated at 40,440 pounds of thrust, enabling the C-17 transport to carry a payload of 164,900 pounds and fly 2,400 nautical miles without refueling. 

The F117-PW-100 first entered service in 1993 and is a member of Pratt & Whitney's PW2000 family of commercial engines. With more than 10 million hours of proven military service and 50 million hours in commercial use, the F117/PW2040 has consistently proven itself as a world-class dependable engine.

The significant maturity of the F117/PW2040 program and Pratt & Whitney's continual investment in product improvements has resulted in world class safety and reliability metrics for the F117.  The engine is widely recognized as the most efficient engine in its class at all available thrust levels. Fleet reliability and durability compliment the engine's efficiency and offer significant fuel burn advantages.

The U.S. Air Force – including active National Guard and Reserve units – has taken delivery of 218 C-17s. Other customers include the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, the Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations, and the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence. In total 250 C-17s and more than 1,100 F117 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide.

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 future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in the Globemaster III funding related to the C-17 aircraft and F117 engines, 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.

Shawn Watson
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines
860-565-9654
Mobile: 860-371-5236
[email protected]

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney