FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW, July 16, 2018/PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced that its F100 engine, which powers Boeing's F-15 Eagle and Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon, has reached 28 million engine flight hours. This marks a major milestone for the engine that powers more than 2,000 aircraft around the world and has been relied on by dozens of countries during its 40-plus years of service.
The F100 was the first engine to power both the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Today, it is the exclusive propulsion system for the U.S. Air Force's F-15 fleet, as well as the F-16s of the Air Force's Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds"). There are more than 3,800 F100 engines currently in service, powering aircraft in 23 different nations. Customers continue to choose the F100 as the mainstay of their fleets, because of its industry-leading mission availability rates, its best-in-class safety record, and its advanced engine technologies.
Since its entry into military service in 1972, the F100 has an unmatched record of safety with the lowest non-recoverable in-flight shutdowns in its class. The latest configuration F100-PW-229 engine, in service for more than 25 years, has zero Class A mishaps since initial operation.
In addition, Pratt & Whitney has placed the F100 at the forefront of fighter engine development. In 1985, it was the first fighter engine to utilize a full-authority digital electronic engine control. In 2006, it was the first fighter engine to increase engine depot maintenance interval to 6,000 total accumulated cycles, which afforded a significant improvement in reliability.
As the only manufacturer of fifth generation engines – the F119 engine for the F-22 Raptor and the F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II – Pratt & Whitney is uniquely positioned to incorporate technology improvements into fourth generation engines like the F100. The recent insertion of fifth-generation engine technologies, such as coatings and alloys, will keep the F100 on the cutting edge for decades to come.
"The F100 program's achievement of reaching 28 million engine flight hours powering the F-15 and F-16 is a testament to the Pratt & Whitney team and our proven legacy of fighter engine technology," said Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. "We look forward to continuing to support our 23 current F100 customers, as well as all future customers, for many more years and milestones to come."