Cobham has received a five-year, US $45 million long- term agreement from Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. company, to manufacture advanced composite products for multiple military aircraft engine applications.

Cobham will produce advanced, medium and high temperature composite structures for both the F135 and F119 engines at the company's state-of-the-art production facilities in San Diego, California and Suffolk, Virginia.

"We are proud to have this opportunity to grow our excellent working relationship with Pratt & Whitney, and have worked closely with Pratt & Whitney to provide assured manufacturing capabilities for their F135 engine," said Jeremy Wensinger, president of Cobham Defence Systems division. "This long term agreement represents an important step in realizing our growth plans, and will be establishing dual manufacturing lines in both San Diego and Suffolk to preclude any natural or man-made disasters from taking down the production line."

Pratt & Whitney's F135 propulsion system is the engine of choice for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth generation, advanced, single-engine tactical fighter. The F135 is the derivative of the proven F119 engine, the technologically advanced turbofan engine exclusively powering the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor.

Cobham has been a key supplier to Pratt & Whitney for more than five years for a variety of composite applications for both military and commercial aircraft engines.