Pratt & Whitney Canada has signed a definitive agreement to supply its PW150C turboprop to power China’s AVIC MA700 regional airliner, scheduled for entry into service in 2021. P&WC says it already has invested significantly in the engine’s development to support its integration into the airframe.

“The PW150C turboprop engine continues to build on the proven PW150A engine architecture and will incorporate the latest technologies to deliver performance and fuel efficiency to the newly designed MA700,” said P&WC v-p of marketing Frédéric Lefebvre. “Enhancements we have built into the PW150C engine include advanced high-efficiency technologies, materials and manufacturing processes, including a third-stage power turbine, a modified reduction gearbox to support the aircraft's larger-diameter propellers and an optimized low-pressure compressor.”

Avic and P&WC (Chalet 346) plan to integrate the PW150C’s engine control with the MA700’s avionics and controls system to reduce pilot workload and offer more dispatch availability and reliability in the hot and high environments of Western China. “To date, we have agreed on the definition of the mechanical interfaces and will soon close on the controls and functional interfaces definition,” said Lefebvre. “The engine is in the detailed design phase and will be available to support AVIC's first aircraft rollout and flight test program.”

P&WC maintains a long-standing relationship with AVIC dating back to the late 1980s, when the Chinese company chose the PT6 engine to power its Y12 utility twin turboprop. The relationship with AVIC further developed with a collaboration with Xi'an Aircraft on the  MA60/600 powered by the PW127J in the early 1990s. The Chinese have delivered more than 100 MA60s to operators mainly in China and developing countries.

The deal with AVIC came hours after P&WC signed an MOU with Russia's Ilyushin to explore the restart of production of the Il-114-100 regional turborop. Under the agreement, P&WC will provide two PW127H engines for testing while the companies cooperate on a new long-term agreement for future regional turboprop programs.

P&WC and Ilyushin originally worked together on the Il-114 at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. First flight of the Il-114-100 took place in January 1999 and the aircraft received Russian certification at the end of that year.

Ten Il-114-100s underwent assembly in Uzbekistan on behalf of Ilyushin and delivered to launch customer Uzbekistan Airways starting in 2002.