East Hartford jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney is being awarded a $239.7 million defense contract for materials that will produce 137 single-engine tactical fighter jets for several military branches, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Farmington-based United Technologies Corp., will acquire long-lead materials, parts and components to produce F135 propulsion systems for the Air Force, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense, or DOD, participants and foreign military sales customers, the defense department announced Monday. The F135 system is the engine that powers the F-35 Lightning II.
The project will produce 67 propulsion systems for non-U.S. DOD participants, 46 for the Air Force, 20 for the Marine Corps and four for the Navy.
About 67 percent of the production will be performed in East Hartford, and about 23 percent and 7 percent of the work will be handled in Indianapolis, Ind. and the U.K., respectively. The project is expected to be completed by Jan. 2021, the defense department said.
The contract includes purchases of $88.7 million, or 37 percent, for the Air Force, more than $43.7 million, or 18 percent for the Marine Corps., about $8.8 million, or 4 percent, for the Navy, $64.4 million, or 27 percent, for the non-U.S. DOD participants and $33.9 million, or 14 percent , for foreign military sales customers.
