PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Engine manufaturer seeks defence growth to compensate for decline in civil sector
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is looking to broaden its turboshaft business by pursuing more military helicopter sales as the civil sector faces uncertainty.
The United Technologies-owned company has enjoyed major success in the civil helicopter market over the last decade and now has more than 2,000 turboshafts operating in 90 countries. "We aim to be one of the top players in the commercial turboshaft business, but we have a very small military segment and this makes our total share of the market more modest," admits Gilles Quimet, P&WC president and chief executive officer.
P&WC has addressed the imbalance by starting a US-based small military engine business. One possible military product is a 670kW (900shp) version of the PW200 turboshaft, which currently powers the AgustaWestland 109 Power, Bell 427, MD902 Explorer and Eurocopter EC135.
The new engine, designated the PW209, is aimed at military and special forces aircraft that will be operating at higher weights and will require better performance. "We are talking about a 30- month programme and a significant investment," says Quimet.
The first PW137-powered Euromil Mi-38 is scheduled to fly shortly and the company is now looking at other platforms for the 2,235kW turboshaft and the larger 4,470kW PW150 engine. The engines could be used by the US Marine Corps' Sikorsky CH-53X and the US Army's Boeing CH-47X future helicopters.
PW&C continues to look for new applications for the long-running PT6C, and it recently delivered PT6C-67C turboshafts to Jingdezhen Helicopters of China to power the planned new home grown Z-10 medium helicopter. It also recently entered the Bell UH-1H Huey re-engining market with the first flight of a PT6C-67D Huey. "We've a complete engine installation kit costing approximately $750,000, and if you look at the payload, reliability and operating costs there's a big difference," says Quimet.
Source: Flight International
