Morristown, N.J.-based Honeywell International (HON 0.65%) is going to Russia ... with engines.
On Tuesday, Honeywell announced that Russia's Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute (SibNIA) has tapped it to supply an expected 300 TPE331-12UAN turboprop engines as part of a "major upgrade" of Russia's Antonov An-2 biplane fleet. Beginning later this year, Honeywell will start supplying engines and performing aftermarket support on the upgrade effort.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Antonov's An-2 is a light utility transport biplane used for aerial supply drops, crop-dusting, firefighting, and other forestry and agricultural purposes. Its short takeoff and landing requirements, large payload capacity, and ability to operate out of "unprepared fields" make it ideal for all sorts of tasks it might be called upon to perform in the Siberian wilderness.
SibNIA's planned upgrade will focus on reducing the plane's weight, reducing fuel consumption, and improving reliability.
Honeywell notes that SibNIA has taken an option to buy more than the initial 300 engines, and that this initial contract may also yield "additional opportunities for future collaboration on the An-2 program," perhaps including upgrades to avionics and or the An-2 cockpit.
