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Pratt & Whitney delivers 500th F117 engine for U.S. Air Force C-17 fleet

MIDDLETOWN, Conn., December 10, 2002 - Pratt & Whitney (P&W) delivered its 500th F117 engine, power for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter, to the U.S. Air Force today. The delivery represents a major milestone accomplishment in what is one of the most successful military aircraft engine programs today.

The engine delivery took place at a ceremony at P&W's Middletown, CT engine assembly facility. Steve Peery, director of F117 engine programs at P&W, said, "The C-17 and F117 program are a great source of pride for Pratt & Whitney. The aircraft and engine are performing superbly for our Air Force customer. The C-17 is absolutely critical to our forces in the war on terrorism, and we are very proud to be a part of this exceptional air system. It is noteworthy that these aircraft also deliver humanitarian supplies, like the 2.5 million meals that C-17s delivered to Afghanistan during the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is clearly a very special airplane.

"Pratt & Whitney's unique F117 engines are at the heart of the C-17's remarkable capabilities," he continued. "The F117 is a military version of our PW2000 engine, which has been in service for nearly 20 years on the Boeing 757, and has accumulated more than 25 million flight hours. The PW2000 is the most fuel efficient engine in its thrust class and has an outstanding record of performance and reliability. This program highlights the benefits to the U.S. Air Force of using commercial technology on a military platform."

Peery also recognized the people who support the F117 engines after delivery to the customer. "Together with our partners at United Airlines, we maintain F117 engines for our Air Force customers at United's engine center in San Francisco and our Engine Center in Cheshire at very economical rates. This maintenance program has delivered exceptional readiness rates to our customer," he said. Earlier this year, the C-17 engine's maintenance program won the Aviation Week Charles B. Ryan Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Award for applying commercial practices to a military program.

The U.S. Air Force currently has 180 C-17s on order. Each C-17 is powered by four P&W F117-PW-100 engines. One of the few differences between the commercial PW2000 and the F117 is that the F117 has a unique thrust reverser system that can be deployed in flight for tactical descents. It also enables the aircraft to back up a two-degree incline and make tight turns on the ground, providing more landing and unloading areas and faster aircraft throughput. The F117 engines have logged more than one million flight hours since their entry into service in September 1991.

Pratt & Whitney military engines are built and supported in facilities located in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Oklahoma and Texas. Models include the F119 powering the F/A-22 Raptor; the F135 for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; the F117 for the C-17 Globemaster III; the F100 for F-15 and F-16 fighters; the J52 for the EA-6B Prowler; the TF-33 powering AWACS, Joint STARS, B-52, C-141 and KC-135 aircraft; the PT6 for T-6A, C-12, T-34C and UH-1N aircraft; and the JT15 for the T-1A, UC-35A, and the Pegasus UCAV.

Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) company, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines.

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