Pratt & Whitney acquires Air Innovations to power AI-assisted borescope inspection

Pratt & Whitney announced that it will acquire Amsterdam-based Aiir Innovations in July 2026. (Pratt & Whitney)

RTX company Pratt & Whitney announced on July 15 that it has acquired Amsterdam-based Air Innovations.

The Connecticut-based company announced that the acquisition will facilitate its use of AI-assisted borescope software to expand its engine inspection capabilities.

“Expanding the integration of AI-assisted inspection capabilities will enhance our ability to detect problems earlier, improve turnaround times, increase uptime on the wing and reduce business interruptions for our customers,” Rob Griffiths, senior vice president of Pratt & Whitney’s commercial engine business, said in a company statement, adding that it will “fundamentally reimagine how we inspect, maintain and support engines and components throughout their lifecycles.”

The software allows inspectors to perform more consistent assessments quickly, further reducing inspection times. Pratt & Whitney said it applied AI technology to the V2500 engine and recently completed pilots for the GTF and F135 engines.

“Today, when an inspector gets in the engine and removes it, that information is fed back and analyzed. [at the factory]as an example, right? Using AI, we get a faster response, a more predictable response, a more consistent response,” Pratt & Whitney President of Commercial Engines Rick DeRoureux told reporters at a media event at the company’s 1,200-acre facility in Middletown, Conn., on July 1.

The company says the software can adapt to inspector feedback and improve classification performance over time, reducing previously time-consuming processes to minutes.

Jill Albertelli, president of military engines at Pratt & Whitney, told reporters that the division is prototyping AI borescope technology on the F135 engine, which he said will be a “benefit” for the company’s engine maintenance teams around the world.