International Turbine Engine Company LLC, a joint venture between Honeywell [HON] and Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp., has received a $735 million contract from the Israel Ministry of Defense to supply engines for jet aircraft trainers.
Under the contract, International Turbine Engine Company will supply the F124-GA-200 turbofan engines for the MoD’s 30 new Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced jet trainers. The award includes aftermarket support.
“The F124 is a core element of the M-346 platform, giving pilots unrestricted surge-free use of the engines they need to train in the widest possible range of flight conditions,” said Massimo Lucchesini, chief operating officer for Operations at Alenia Aermacchi, which is part of Italy’s Finmeccanica. “It offers best-in-class thrust-to-weight ratio, providing afterburner-like agility coupled with exceptionally low fuel consumption. This enables the M-346 to deliver combat aircraft levels of performance, while providing the operator with unrivaled low life-cycle cost and high reliability and safety.”
The F124 and an afterburning variant of the engine, the F125, have now been selected for use by five international defense departments.