Bangalore: Aircraft engine maker, Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp company, plans to step up sourcing of components from India. The company is currently working with 16 Indian engine parts suppliers.
Pratt & Whitney is also holding discussions with five Indian companies to form joint ventures for manufacturing engine parts in India. One of these joint ventures could be announced sometime next week, said Vivek Saxena, country manager, Pratt & Whitney.
The company plans to double the headcount at it's sourcing office in Bangalore to about 80 people in three years. It's local sourcing of components and engineering services will increase 10-fold by 2014, to around $150-200 million a year from the current $15 million.
Pratt & Whitney is also exploring partnership opportunities with L&T, the Tata Group and other companies. The company is working with it's suppliers in India to bring them up to the required quality standards.
Boeing Company and the Indian Air Force reached preliminary agreement on the purchase of 10 C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, and are now in the process of finalizing the details of the sale. The preliminary agreement represents the purchase of approximately 45 engines for Pratt & Whitney.
Pratt & Whitney's F117 engine, powering the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter, recently exceeded 8 million engine flight hours. "This landmark milestone is a testament to the efficiency of the F117 engine," said Bev Deachin, vice president, Military Programs and Customer Support, Pratt & Whitney.
The C-17 Globemaster III – the world's premier heavy airlifter – is operated by four F117 engines. The F117-PW-100 first entered service in 1993 and is a derivative of Pratt & Whitney's PW2037 commercial engine powering the Boeing 757. Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 1,050 F117 engines worldwide, including 82 with international customers.
According to reports, General Electric and Rolls-Royce have proposed an alternate engine for the aircraft.
United Technologies's Sikorsky Aircraft Corp expects Indian demand for helicopters to reach $21.4 billion in the next 20 years. "The market may become the world’s largest in terms of unit sales," said Steve Estill, vice president of strategic partnerships.
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