The U.S. Dept. of Defense awarded $670.2-million to Pratt & Whitney, for procuring components and materials needed for manufacturing F135 propulsion systems. This award follows a $2.8-billion contract placed with Pratt less than a month ago to supply a total of 141 F135 engines, for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
The disbursement is a modification to a previous “indefinite delivery” contract issued in September 2020, with an initial value of $3.64 billion, for production and sustainment of F-35 propulsion systems, including specialized aircraft engine components, parts, and technical services.
The latest modification to the contract “adds scope to procure initial spares for the production and delivery of the F135 propulsion system,” including depot spares and common parts, and country-unique spares. The Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighter is used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and 19 other partner nations and foreign military sales customers.
DoD reported that the procurement activity will be done at Pratt & Whitney operations in Connecticut and Maine.
Lockheed is preparing to begin production of Lot 18 of the Joint Strike Fighter, scheduled to be completed in mid-2027. A total of 145 aircraft are due to be delivered.
The F135 is an afterburning turbofan engine for the single-engine Joint Strike Fighter jets. Currently, Pratt is carrying out an Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) project to improve the propulsion system capabilities for all three variants of the F135 engine, in anticipation of the Department’s larger plan to upgrade all three F-35 aircraft models to incorporate more sensor and weapons technologies and electronic warfare capabilities.
