Pratt & Whitney launches PW1900G production in Middletown to expand GTF engine output
Propulsion specialist adds assembly capacity in Connecticut while continuing to produce GTF variants in Mirabel near Montreal. Pratt & Whitney (P&W) is on track this month to deliver the first PW1900G built in Middletown, Connecticut, as part of the company’s effort to boost production of the two smallest variants of its geared turbofan family. The company previously only assembled PW1900Gs, which power Embraer 190-E2s and 195-E2s, at its Canadian facility in Mirabel near Montreal, which also houses assembly of the related PW1500G for the Airbus A220. “We're on track to deliver our first Middletown-produced PW1900G to Embraer later this month,” says P&W. Accelerating output in Mirabel, where P&W’s PW1500G production jumped 20% year on year in 2025, prompted the firm to add a new PW1900G line at its facility in Middletown, south of Hartford. Middletown is also one of P&W’s primary production sites for the PW1100G, which is an option on A320neo-family jets. “As [Mirabel] production lines got more and more output, we needed a little bit more room,” says P&W commercial engines president Rick Deurloo. “It was always the plan to move them down to Middletown.” P&W will continue assembling some PW1900Gs, and all PW1500Gs, in Mirabel. Airbus has been working to accelerate A220 production to a rate of 13 per month by 2028. It delivered 93 of the jets in 2025, up from 75 in 2024, the airframer’s data shows, and will post another increase this year. Separately, P&W on 15 July said it had acquired new borescope-inspection software with the purchase of Amsterdam firm Aiir Innovations. “The software assists inspectors by applying artificial intelligence to borescope video to deliver faster, more-repeatable assessments,” P&W says. “It has already been rolled out to commercial customers and MRO providers, significantly reducing inspection times.” P&W has used the technology to assist with inspections of International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans, which power first-generation A320s. It has started evaluating the AI software on GTF and F135 engines, which power Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters.