Pratt & Whitney to Deliver First JT8D-219 Engine for Re-engined Joint STARS Aircraft

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., March 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney will deliver its first reconfigured JT8D-219 engine, to Northrop Grumman later this month as part of the U.S. Air Force's re-engined E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft program. This delivery comes on the heels of FAA certification of several modifications to the engine. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"This delivery is yet another notable milestone in the long history of the JT8D engine," said Bev Deachin, vice president, Military Programs and Customer Support, Pratt & Whitney. "The JT8D-219 engine will enable a re-engined Joint STARS aircraft to operate with more thrust, while consuming less fuel, compared to the TF33 engines originally installed. This gives the Joint STARS aircraft higher operational altitude and longer mission duration, while significantly reducing the maintenance burden of the older engines. It's a win-win proposition for our U.S. Air Force customer."  

Among the engine's configuration modifications are: a nickel high-pressure compressor rotor system that provides enhanced corrosion resistance, external changes to accommodate mounting the engine under the aircraft's wing, an enhanced bleed override system, and higher load-carrying towershaft and gearbox elements to accommodate increased power extraction.

If the U.S. Air Force chooses to retrofit its entire Joint STARS fleet, production quantities could be in excess of 80 engines. The JT8D-219 engine is assembled and tested in Pratt & Whitney's Middletown, Conn., facility.

The current commercial JT8D-219 engine with external modifications has been certified to support B707 re-engining via the Supplemental Type Certificate approved by the FAA for Pratt & Whitney's Joint Venture partner, Seven Q Seven. Seven Q Seven is a San Antonio, Texas-based company that converts and upgrades aircraft, primarily Boeing 707s, for commercial and military support applications. The E-8C is a modified B707-300.

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 building industries.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities and operational engine performance. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in funding related to the JSTARS aircraft and JT8D 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 advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney