Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announced today that its International Turbine Engine Company (ITEC) has been awarded a contract to deliver F124-GA-200 engines to Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica Company, for the production of the Advanced Jet Trainer M-346. The initial agreement is valued at US $52 million.

"The design and durability of the ITEC F124 engine delivers an additional performance margin over other aircraft engines, allowing it to maintain aircraft specification thrust levels for a longer period of time," said Dave Marinick, President, ITEC. "This enables the M346 to provide a level of performance unrivaled by any other advanced jet trainer."

"The F124-GA-200 Honeywell ITEC engine includes several features designed to ease maintenance, such as an integrated engine monitoring system that monitors engine health and tracks life usage and on-condition maintenance," Marinick added. "The engine has also been designed to significantly reduce maintenance and downtime, improving fleet and mission readiness."

The F124-GA-200 engine design includes new mount adapters, a new accessory gearbox with provisions for mounting aircraft accessories and a new exhaust system. It also includes a new, full authority digital engine control (FADEC) based on Honeywell's latest modular aerospace control architecture, offering superior reliability and performance. The F124-GA-200 engine is a derivative of an existing turbofan engine, the F124-GA-100, used on the Czech Republic fleet of AF L-159 aircraft. Additionally, an afterburning version of the F124, designated the F125IN, is currently being considered for the Indian Air Force Jaguar re-engine program.

The F124-GA-200 engine provides primary propulsion power for the M346 aircraft. A high performance powerplant with the highest thrust to weight in its class, the F124-GA-200 is a low bypass ratio engine, meeting the most rigorous requirements of modern light combat and advanced trainer aircraft. It is the latest variant in the F-124 family that also includes the F124-GA-100 for the Aero Vodochody/CzAF L-159 and the Boeing/DARPA X-45A UCAV.

The M-346 aircraft is a twin-engine, transonic, advanced trainer capable of flight qualities and performance matching those of the latest generation of front-line fighters. The combination of the M-346's superior performance, high reliability, and low life-cycle-cost make the F124 an ideal powerplant to meet the fleet's training requirements worldwide.