Pratt & Whitney handed over the 507th and final F-119 production engine for the F-22 to the Air Force in a ceremony Thursday at the company’s production facility in Middletown, Conn. “This is a bittersweet occasion for those of us who have played a part in 12 years of successful production deliveries,” said Bennett Croswell, the company’s president of military engines, at the ceremony, according to the company’s Jan. 17 release. “The F119 production engine program might be ending but we look forward to a 30- to 40-year sustainment period in partnership with the Air Force to keep the fleet flying,” he added. Two F119s power each F-22. Pratt & Whitney delivered the first F-119 to the Air Force in December 2000, and announced the delivery of the 500th F119 last September. Pratt & Whitney has partnered with the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker AFB, Okla., to manage scheduled F119 overhauls. The F119 is the forefather of the F-35 strike fighter’s F135 propulsion system. Due to a lull between the end of F-119 production and the transition to full-up F135 manufacture, the company is shedding some 350 employees, reported the Hartford Courant.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.