AERO INDIA, BANGALORE, INDIA, Feb. 8, 2011 – Pratt & Whitney’s F117 engine, the exclusive power for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter, recently exceeded 8 million engine flight hours. At the same time, the C-17 exceeded 2 million flight hours, while supporting a U.S. Air Force mission, and airdropped 74,000 pounds of supplies in support of U.S. and allied troops. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

“This landmark milestone is a testament to the efficiency 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 4 million flight hours in support of military and humanitarian missions around the globe. To put this in perspective, it took 13 years of operational service for the engine to reach the first 4 million flight-hour milestone. This statistic reflects the C-17’s increased workload over the past several years.

The C-17 Globemaster III – the world’s premier heavy airlifter – is operated by four F117 engines.  The F117-PW-100 first entered service in 1993 and is a derivative of Pratt & Whitney’s PW2037 commercial engine powering the Boeing 757.  With more than 8 million hours of proven military service and 45 million hours in commercial use, the F117/PW2037 has consistently proven itself as a world-class dependable engine. Pratt & Whitney’s ongoing investment in product improvements has enabled the engine to continuously surpass established goals for time on wing, in-flight shut downs and support turnaround time.

“We gain satisfaction from the knowledge that the U.S. Air Force and international customers are putting our F117 engines to such beneficial use,” Deachin said. “The future is bright for C-17’s successful ongoing missions.”

Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 1,050 F117 engines worldwide, including 82 with international customers. The U.S. Air Force – including active National Guard and Reserve units – has taken delivery of 207 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.

Source: Pratt & Whitney press release