Jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney announced Thursday that it had obtained a three-year contract worth up to $1.5 billion for more work on F119 engines, which power the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 fighter jets.
The contract will “improve readiness” and reduce costs for more than 400 F119 engines that have flown more than 900,000 hours, according to officials at Pratt & Whitney, which has plants in East Hartford and Middletown. They said the company has already lowered F119 expenses through a program that uses real-time data to enhance maintenance and improve the engines’ performance and lifespan.
“The F119’s readiness and reliability rates have never been more important, and we are improving both while lowering lifecycle costs,” said Jill Albertelli, president of military engines at Pratt & Whitney, in a written statement. “We are committed to helping our U.S. Air Force customer maintain the F-22’s combat edge.”
F119s can fly above 65,000 feet and maintain supersonic speeds without afterburners, according to company officials.
While Pratt & Whitney is the engine supplier for the F-22s, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the fighter jets’ airframe contractors. Lockheed Martin’s businesses include Stratford-based helicopter maker Sikorsky.
Last year, Pratt & Whitney secured a $1.3 billion contract for engine upgrades for F-35 fighter jets.
Among other recent developments, Pratt & Whitney announced last month that it would make a small number of layoffs. It did not specify the amount of job cuts or disclose how many, if any, of the approximately 11,000 employees who work at the facilities in East Hartford and Middletown would be affected by the downsizing.
At the same time, the company is dealing with some labor discontent in Connecticut. Several hundred workers who are members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union gathered on Jan. 3 outside the Middletown plant to protest what they said were unpaid furloughs imposed by the company during that week.
IAMAW members’ current three-year contract expires on May 5. Talks between the union and the company about a new pact are scheduled to start in early April.
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