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Pratt & Whitney Begins Assembly of First Flight Test F135 Engine for the Joint Strike Fighter

Contact: Matthew Perra
Phone: (860) 565-8938
matthew.perra@pw.utc.com

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - August 23, 2005 - Pratt & Whitney has begun assembly of the first flight test F135 engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The F135 will be the exclusive power for the JSF's first flights starting next year.

Assembly of the first flight test engine, a Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant, began at Pratt & Whitney's Engine Center in Middletown, Conn., as employees started work on the F135's High Pressure Compressor rotor assembly.

"The entire F135 team is extremely excited to see this engine come together," said Bill Gostic, vice president of F135 engine programs for Pratt & Whitney. "Pratt & Whitney powered all JSF Concept Demonstration Aircraft flights and accumulated more than 3,600 hours of ground testing before entering into System Development and Demonstration (SDD) in 2001. Now, with more than three years and 3,400 additional hours of SDD testing, the F135 has unprecedented maturity for a development fighter engine. Powering the F-35's first flight next year is a major milestone for Pratt & Whitney and the JSF program."

The first flight test F135 engine will be assembled and tested over the next few months before being delivered to Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth, Texas, facility in December. The engine will be assembled from hardware produced in the United States and the JSF partner nations. In January 2006, the F135 program will achieve Initial Flight Release and the F135 will power the F-35's first flight in third quarter 2006.

The technologically advanced F135, power for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is an evolution of the highly successful F119 engine for the F/A-22 Raptor. Together the F135 and F119 will have logged more than one million flight hours before the F-35’s introduction into operational service in 2012.

The F135 propulsion system team consists of Pratt & Whitney, the prime contractor with responsibility for the main engine and system integration; Rolls-Royce, providing lift components for the STOVL F-35B; and Hamilton Sundstrand, provider of the F135’s control system, external accessories and gearbox.

Pratt & Whitney military engine models include the F135 for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; the F119 powering the F/A-22 Raptor; 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 TF33 powering AWACS, Joint STARS, B-52, C-141 and KC-135 aircraft; the TF30 for the F-111, the PT6 for T-6A and UH-1N aircraft; and JT15 for the T-1A trainer and Pegasus UCAV.

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

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