UTX Wins Federal Contracts - Analyst Blog

Out of 14 defense contracts awarded by Department of Defense last Thursday, 2 contracts were assigned to the diversified conglomerate United Technologies Corp. UTX. The two contracts are reportedly worth $123.4 million.

The first contract, valued at $113.4 million, was awarded to Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies and a leading global supplier of aircraft engines for the commercial, military, business jet and general aviation markets. The contract modification calls for maintenance of Low-Rate Initial Production Lot VIII F135 propulsion systems, which are the engines powering the F-35 fighter jets.

Per the contract, Pratt & Whitney will provide funding operations and maintenance support, recurring and non-recurring engineering sustainment, and supply chain work in support of the propulsion systems. The contract will run through Mar 2017.

The second contract was won by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., an operating segment of United Technologies and a dominant manufacturer of military and commercial helicopters. Sikorsky won a $10 million, 17-month option exercise to continue design work on an experimental air-vehicle, which is part of the DARPA Vertical Take-Off and Landing experimental aircraft (VTOL X-Plane) program.

In Dec 2013, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp had won a $15 million contract for the VTOL X-Plane program launched by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It involved development of the preliminary design for the VTOL X-Plane, a high-speed vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft with the hover capability of a helicopter. Due to this contract extension, Sikorsky will continue to work on the program till Nov 2015.
    
Apart from United Technologies, the other primary beneficiary of the defense contracts was Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT.

Other awardees include Rockwell Collins Inc. COL that won an $11.9 million contract modification to upgrade the E-6B Mercury Weapon System Trainer for the U.S. Navy; and The Boeing Company BA which secured a $28.7 million contract modification to design, install and test the airworthiness of cabin equipment in the P-8A Poseidon Test aircraft.

United Technologies currently sports a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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