Avio, Italy's aero-engine manufacturer, and Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. Company and leader in the design and manufacture of aircraft engines, today announced the signature of a long-term agreement for Avio to produce the P&W designed fan drive gear system for the Pure Power® PW1100G-JM engine. Under the agreement, Avio will also design the accessory gearbox and the oil tank for the engine and produce those components as well.

The Pure Power engine represents a breakthrough in engine efficiency, achieved through the groundbreaking Geared TurbofanTM architecture. Pratt & Whitney and Avio have worked together for two decades on the development of the Fan Drive Gear System, a core module of the Pure Power engine family.

The Pure Power engine will power Airbus' A320neo aircraft, as well as the Bombardier CSeries - where Avio and Pratt & Whitney signed an agreement in 2010 - ,the Mitsubishi Regional Jet – and the Irkut MC-21 narrowbody jet.

To date, the Pure Power engine has completed more than 2,000 hours of full engine testing, including nearly 250 flight hours on Pratt & Whitney's B747 flight test aircraft.

Avio and Pratt & Whitney will share the production of the Fan Drive Gear System Avio will also have the responsibility to design the accessory gearbox and oil tank, sharing the manufacturing with Pratt & Whitney. Through this agreement, Pratt & Whitney and Avio will work together to ensure flawless execution on all industrial and supply chain deliverables.

The total value of the contract could reach a value of over €500 million. The first modules are scheduled to be delivered in June 2012 to support the first engine run of the PW1100G-JM engine, scheduled for 4Q 2012.

Francesco Caio, CEO of Avio, said: "We are very excited to be participating in this innovative programme. The PW1100G-JM engine is setting a new standard in the industry for efficiency and sustainability. We have a longstanding partnership with Pratt & Whitney –we started to study the transmission concept about 20 years ago and we worked together since 2005 on P&W Geared Turbofan Demonstrator project to provide critical emission reduction technologies, and in the major PurePower engine projects. Our relationship will be enhanced by this long-term agreement.