EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Pratt & Whitney said Thursday it won a contract worth up to $491 million including options to provide propulsion systems for new military fighter jets.
Delivery of the propulsion systems for the F-35 are scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2009, said the company, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
The F-35 being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. would include versions capable of vertical takeoffs and landings, like a helicopter.
The initial production contract for Pratt & Whitney will cover systems for 12 aircraft including six vertical-takeoff models and six conventional-takeoff ones. The contract also covers engineering assistance and other services.
According to the company, the engine for the F-35 is an "evolution" of one built for the F-22, an engine that will have logged more than 480,000 flight hours by the time production begins on the F-35.
Rolls-Royce and United Technologies' Hamilton Sundstrand unit will also provide engine components.
