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Alp Aviation and Pratt & Whitney Celebrate Ground Breaking for Critical F135 Rotor Production Facili

Pratt & Whitney and Turkish aerospace industry leader, Alp Aviation celebrated the ground breaking of a

Date: Issue 20 - January 2010

“This is truly a day of celebration for Pratt & Whitney, Alp Aviation, Turkish industry and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program,” said Warren Boley, Pratt & Whitney Vice President of F135 Engine Programs. “Alp Aviation continues to deliver key F135 components meeting cost, quality and schedule requirements, and we are looking forward to continuing our valuable relationship with Alp Aviation, and ultimately seeing this new facility in full production.”















The April award of second, third, and fourth stage titanium IBR production will bring a unique manufacturing technology to Alp Aviation and Turkish industry. No other IBRs are manufactured like those produced for the F135. These parts are safety critical, major rotating components for the F135 fan and compressor. Alp Aviation has already begun pre-machining of the titanium IBR’s in their existing facility and plans to transition all production for Pratt & Whitney upon completion of the new facility.















“Pratt & Whitney is committed to promoting industrial cooperation and business with our international partners,” Boley said. “We continue to have great confidence in Turkish industry and Alp Aviation to produce these safety critical components for the F135 based on their proven past performance and their demonstrated technical capability,”















“We’re very proud of this accomplishment and continue to work hard in bringing the most up-to-date technology to Turkey and increasing our work share in F-35 and F135,” said Tuncer Alpata, chairman, Alp Aviation.















Alp Aviation, located in Eskisehir, Turkey, is a world-class manufacturer of aircraft and engine parts and components, supporting a number of international and Turkish companies. Alp Aviation is a joint venture between the Alpata Corporation and Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp..















For eight years and more than 13,000 test hours, Pratt & Whitney has been designing, developing and testing the F135 to deliver the most advanced fifth generation fighter engine for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as eight international partner countries.















The F135 is derived from mature technology of the only operational fifth generation fighter engine, the F119, powering the F-22 Raptor. The F135 is the only engine powering the F-35 Lightning II flight test program.















The F135 propulsion system is the power of choice for the F-35 and has proven it can meet diverse aircraft requirements. The ground and flight test experience demonstrates the maturity and the associated reliability of the F135 engine for armed forces around the world. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.