The Air Force said Wednesday it awarded Pratt & Whitney [UTX] a $30 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract modification for its proposed development program to improve the performance of next-generation combat aircraft engines.
Pratt & Whitney, along with General Electric [GE], is vying for the service’s Advanced Engine Technology Development contract award. The Air Force awarded General Electric a $349.7 million ID/IQ contract Sept. 21 as part of the AETD program (Defense Daily, Sept. 25). Pratt & Whitney said at the time it was selected to move forward in the AETD program, but was still negotiating its contract.
Pratt & Whitney spokesman Matthew Bates said last week in an email the $30 million contract is an increase in funding under the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (VAATE) program and is not the full amount anticipated for the AETD program for Pratt & Whitney.
“We expect additional funding to be announced for the Adaptive Engine Technology Development program shortly,” Bates said.
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Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick said Friday in an email the $30 million is from the Air Force Research Lab modifying its ID/IQ contract to increase the ceiling to approximately $400 million. Gulick said this creates a contracting vehicle which allows the Air Force to award an AETD contract to Pratt & Whitey for an amount up to the $400 million ceiling.
“Once finalized, we expect the Pratt & Whitney contract to be of similar magnitude to the General Electric contract,” Gulick said.
AEDT is designed to improve combat jet engines’ fuel efficiency, durability and thrust performance. The program will also include un-refueled range for several platforms engaging in Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments. Rolls-Royce also entered a bid for AETD, but was not selected.
Phase 1 of the AETD program, which runs through mid-fiscal year 2015, includes completing preliminary design, testing a full annular combustor rig, high-pressure compressor rig and components using ceramic matrix composite materials (CMC). Phase 2 of the program, to be completed in FY ’16, consists of fan rig testing and a full engine core test, allowing for a notional first full engine test as early as 2017.
Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. [UTX].
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