The Pentagon issued a further $369.8 million to Pratt & Whitney for further manufacturing activity with the F135 engine program, the propulsion system that powers the single-engine F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The new award will fund development of engines for two forthcoming production rounds (Lots 20 and 21) of the F-35, and follows by less than a month the U.S. Navy’s $3.8-billion finalization of a contract for the current and ensuing production rounds.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 is currently in production Lot 18. Defense planners and F-35 program suppliers project the F-35 program to run for several decades into the future. With several
The F135 is an afterburning turbofan engine for the F-35, which includes three aircraft models for different takeoff and landing requirements of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, and the defense forces of 19 F-35 program partner nations and other U.S. allies.
Specifically, the new modification to a previously awarded contract will cover procurement costs for long lead-time materials (e.g. titanium, avionics) and engineered components, production tooling, and efforts supporting F135 engines for F-35 Lot 20; and it adds further scope to the procurement authorization for Lot 21.
For Lot 20, Pratt & Whitney will supply 138 engines (including production engines and spares), starting this year for the aircraft production schedule during 2029-2030. Lot 20 are expected to be the first F135 engines to be natively built according to the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) redesign, incorporating a new engine computing core and memory, as well as displays.
Pratt & Whitney TR-3 engines enable the F-35 Block 4 update, which will implement improved sensor technologies, advanced electronic warfare capabilities, and increased weapons capacity for the fighter jets.
The Lot 21 schedule follows Lot 20 by about one year, with engine production during 2027-2028 and an estimated 133 aircraft to be completed during 2030-2031.
The current award will fund activities at Pratt & Whitney operations in East Hartford and Middletown, Conn., as well as Indianapolis, with additional activity in various other states.
