P&W Awarded $33.8 Million DARPA Contract

Pratt & Whitney received a $33.8 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop Constant Volume Combustion engine technology under Phase II of the Vulcan advanced propulsion program. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. UTX company. CVC technology has the potential to significantly decrease the fuel consumption of U.S. Navy surface combatants and increase overall operational capability. A CVC engine's performance improvements come from a paradigm shift in the way fuel is burned. Conventional engines burn fuel at a constant pressure. CVC engines combust fuel at a constant volume and are significantly more efficient than conventional engines.