The U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center recently contracted Raytheon Technologies' Collins Aerospace business to continue producing new, advanced propellers for C-130 aircraft.
NP2000 is an eight composite bladed propeller system designed for performance.
The $135M contract will allow Collins to manufacture and support new NP2000 propeller systems, including the electronic control system and spares.
"Reliability and maintainability are important to our customers," said Quinlan Lyte, senior director for propeller systems at Collins Aerospace. "We are retrofitting the Air Force's fleet to improve performance, increase flight safety and lower operating cost."
The NP2000 propeller system is designed to modernize the C-130 Hercules and E-2 Hawkeye. The composite blades can be removed individually without the need to remove the entire system, decreasing maintenance time and extending the lifecycle of aircraft fleets.
Work will be performed in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
