Pratt wins $194 million for early work on F-35 engines

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WASHINGTON (Global Markets) - United Technologies Corp's (UTX.N) Pratt & Whitney unit has won a $194 million advanced acquisition contract for early work on 37 engines for a sixth batch of F-35 fighter jets, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The contract, which runs through September 2012, includes fixed-price line items for long lead components, parts, and materials required for engines to be built for 31 F-35s for the United States, four for Italy and two for Australia, the Defense Department said in a daily digest of major weapons contracts.

The Pentagon negotiates separate contracts with Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), which is developing three variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. military and eight partner countries; and engine maker Pratt & Whitney.

The contract includes engines for 18 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variants for the U.S. Air Force; 6 short take-off and vertical landing variants for the Marine Corps; 7 carrier variant for the Navy; four CTOL versions for Italy, and two CTOLs for Australia.

This contract covers only certain materials and parts that the company needs to start buying early. The actual contract for the engines will likely be negotiated later this year.

That means the number of jets and engines included in the advanced procurement deal may yet change, especially since the Pentagon is gearing up to restructure the program and defer work on over 120 jets as part of its fiscal 2013 budget proposal.

The Pentagon is now negotiating contracts for a fifth batch of fighter jets and engines with Lockheed Martin and Pratt, although both companies have received contracts that allow them to start billing the government for certain costs associated with those planes.

(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa, editing by Carol Bishopric)