Pratt & Whitney Expands at Okla. Air Force Base

The aerospace company said the project would support the rapidly growing fleet of military aircraft powered by its F135 engines.

Pratt & Whitney F135 engine on a production line.
Pratt & Whitney F135 engine on a production line.
United Technologies Corp./Pratt & Whitney Division

Pratt & Whitney announced plans to bolster its military service operations outside Oklahoma City amid continued growth in the fleet powered by its aircraft engines.

The expansion, announced at last week’s Paris Air Show, would invest millions to support β€œsustainment operations” at its complex at Tinker Air Force Base. Pratt’s workforce, which currently supports the F135, F119 and F117 military engines at Tinker, grew 10-fold in the Oklahoma City area over the past 15 years, and officials noted the F135 fleet is expected to double in size over the next three.

The project is expected to result in more than 100 new jobs.

Pratt recently disclosed plans to hire 1,000 workers in Connecticut as its parent company, United Technologies Corp., shifts its headquarters to Massachusetts as part of a proposed $120 billion merger with defense contractor Raytheon.

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