EAST HARTFORD, Conn.,
May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Pratt & Whitney today announced that the first F135
engine has been delivered to the F-35 Final Assembly Check Out
(FACO) facility in Cameri, Novara, Italy. This engine – the
137th delivered to date – is also the first F135 engine
produced in Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach Engine Center;
the company's brand new, state-of-the-art 97,000-square-foot
production facility. Pratt & Whitney is a United
Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.
"We are very proud of the team here and the dedicated effort to
build the first production F135 engine," said Eric Ross, general manager of the West Palm
Beach Engine Center. "We broke ground on this facility in April of
2013, and began production of our first F135 in December. We not
only started on time, but we also successfully met our target
delivery date on the first engine to the Italian FACO."
Engines produced in the new West Palm Beach facility are built
to the same exacting build standards as engines in the Middletown, Connecticut, production
facility. Pratt & Whitney has been doing test and
validation work on F135 development engines in West Palm Beach as
part of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program for
more than 14 years. This new assembly capability, in addition to
the existing comprehensive test capability at the West Palm Beach
site, provides added capacity as the F135 program ramps up
production.
"Italy has been a vital partner
on the F-35 program from the start of the program. This is the
beginning of a new chapter in the F-35 program as we begin to
deliver engines outside of the U.S.," said Cheryl Lobo, director, F135 Programs. "The
Italian industrial base is ramping up their product and will
continue to support production and sustainment for decades to
come."
Italy is currently planning on
buying a combination of F-35A conventional takeoff and landing
variants and F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing jets. With
this mix of aircraft, Italian forces will be able to land virtually
anywhere, including bases, damaged airstrips, remote locations and
air-capable ships.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture
and service of aircraft engines, auxiliary and ground power units,
and small turbojet propulsion products. United Technologies Corp.,
based in Hartford, Connecticut, is
a diversified company providing high technology products and
services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more
about UTC, visit its website at www.utc.com, or follow the company
on Twitter: @UTC.
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 government
procurement priorities and practices, budget plans and availability
of funding, and 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 the
companies' Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Matthew Bates
Pratt & Whitney Military
Engines
Mobile: +1-860-371-9857
Matthew.Bates@pw.utc.com
SOURCE Pratt & Whitney