Pratt & Whitney F117 engines recently surpassed their 10 millionth flight hour on the C-17 transport, announced the company. “This milestone is a testament to the reliability of the F117 engine,” said Beverly Deachin, the company’s vice president for military programs and customer support. “The exceptional performance of our engines—in some of the harshest conditions—has helped the C-17 Globemaster III save countless lives in military, humanitarian, and disaster relief missions,” she added in the company’s Feb. 21 release. Each C-17 carries four F117 turbofans. Constant upgrades to increase reliability and efficiency have increased the F117’s average “on-wing” time between overhauls to eight years, states the release. The F117 first entered service in 1993. So far, there are some 250 C-17s in worldwide service, including 218 in the Air Force’s fleet. P&W said it has delivered more than 1,100 F117 engines thus far.
RTX, parent of Raytheon, Collins and Pratt & Whitney, is getting out of the space prime business and focusing on its "strengths" as a maker of space sensors, buses, and components, company COO Chris Calio said during an earnings call.