NEW DELHI — Pratt & Whitney has delivered the first 10 F117 engines to Boeing to power a fleet of C-17 transport aircraft destined for the Indian air force (IAF).

India signed a $4.1 billion contract with the U.S. in 2011 for the aircraft, making the country the largest C-17 export customer. The two governments finalized the Foreign Military Sales contract last June.

The first of the C-17s is going through a U.S. Air Force flight test program at Edwards AFB, Calif.

“Boeing is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014,” says Dennis Swanson, vice president of international business development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security in India.

The C-17 is powered by four F117 engines, each rated at 40,440 lb. of thrust.

“Pratt & Whitney is delighted to be delivering the first batch of engines that will power the IAF’s C-17 fleet and we’re pleased to have them join the growing international fleet that flies this premium airlifter,” says Bev Deachin, vice president for military programs and customer support at Pratt & Whitney.

The C-17 transport is capable of taking off from a 7,600-ft. airfield carrying a payload of 160,600 lb., and flying 2,400 nm without refueling. 

The F117-PW-100 engine first entered service in 1993 and is a derivative of Pratt & Whitney’s PW2040 commercial engine. The engine has seen 10 million hr. of military service and 50 million hr. of commercial use, according to Deachin.