New Fighter Engine on Boards at P&W

A new fighter engine is on the drawing boards at Pratt & Whitney, utilizing the core of the PW6000 turbofan engine being developed for the 100-passenger Airbus A318.

The new engine will be suitable for light combat and advanced trainer aircraft, P&W president Louis Chenevert told Show News.

"In future all our military engines must have commercial derivative applications, and vice versa," he said. The core of the F119 fighter engine in the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter could also be parlayed into a commercial engine, he said.

Pratt & Whitney's five-year strategic plan envisions the JT8D powering JSTARS reconnaissance aircraft, the PW4000 re-engining C-5 transports, and the IAE V2500 engine finding a place on AWACS aircraft for international customers.

The company believes it can grow its military business from about $1.7 billion a year in sales today to $2.5 billion by 2004.