East Hartford’s Pratt & Whitney Co. and the Pentagon have agreed in principle on the production of 32 engines for a fifth batch of radar-evading F-35 fighter planes, Reuters reports.
Financial details will be announced when the formal contract is complete, a joint statement said without specifying when this might be, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The head of the Pentagon’s F-35 program office, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, cited in the statement declining engine prices and said he appreciated “everyone’s commitment to drive cost out of the program.”
The Pentagon awarded Pratt a preliminary contract valued at $1.12 billion for 30 engines in December 2011. Efforts to reach a final deal have been under way since. A total of $9.5 million was added to the preliminary contract in August 2012 for two more engines.
The agreement in principle covers 29 engines for installation in the F-35’s three models plus three spares, the joint statement said.
Pratt is a division of United Technologies Corp. in Hartford.
