MOSCOW, Russia, April 12, 2010 – Pratt & Whitney and Russia’s Irkut Corporation have signed a contract for the companies to begin preliminary design activities on the Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1400G engine, which was selected to power the Irkut MC-21 aircraft.    The contract represents the beginning of the development of the third airframe application for the PurePower engine, which will provide customers a significant reduction in fuel burn and noise with lower environmental emissions and operating costs than today’s engines.  Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

Irkut plans to develop the MC-21 as a family of 150 to 210-passenger aircraft with the first flight planned for 2014 and entry into service in 2016.

“We are pleased to work with Irkut to offer the many economic and environmental benefits of the PurePower engine to the MC-21 aircraft,” said Todd Kallman, president, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines & Global Services.  “Our Geared Turbofan™ engine architecture offers unprecedented advantages in the reduction of fuel burn, noise, emissions and operating costs. We believe our engine offers the best benefits possible to Irkut’s potential customers and provides a competitive advantage.”

The PurePower PW1000G engine features an advanced gear system that allows the engine’s fan to operate at a slower speed than the low-pressure compressor and turbine.  The combination of the gear system and an advanced core delivers double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and environmental emissions and a 50 percent reduction in noise as well as reduced maintenance costs.

With core testing in progress and full engine testing scheduled this summer for the engine’s first applications, the PurePower engine program fully supports the Irkut MC-21 development timeline.

Source: Pratt & Whitney