Pratt & Whitney celebrates 35th anniversary of the F100 engine

Pratt & Whitney celebrates 35 years of producing the F100 engine powering F-16 and F-15 military fighter jets operated by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and air forces in 22 nations. The F100 engine entered production on June 15, 1974, and is expected to remain operational for decades to come. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company.

"The F100 propulsion system provides air forces around the world with superior performance and modern propulsion capabilities for today's most advanced F-15s and F-16s," said Bill Gostic, vice president, Pratt & Whitney Military Programs and Customer Support. "We are proud of this milestone and continue to implement product improvements that further enhance the world-class safety and reliability and lower the life cycle cost for all models of the F100."

Pratt & Whitney's F100 engine family -- which includes the PW-100, -200, -220, -220E and -229 engines -- recently exceeded 22 million operational flight hours. Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 7,200 F100 engines and continues to push the envelope on performance and technology in the fighter engine arena. Through continuous investment in product improvement, Pratt & Whitney's F100 engine has achieved 81% reduction in unscheduled removal rate since entry into service. The F100-PW-229 engine enhancement package (EEP) configuration currently in production today incorporates technology from Pratt & Whitney's fifth generation F119 and F135 propulsion systems.