The U.S. Dept. of Defense issues a new, $186-million contract to Pratt & Whitney engines in support of the F135 engine program. The award is defined to cover material and support equipment for depot maintenance, program administration, supplies, services, and planning for depot start-ups, and equipment for sustaining the F135 engines.
The F135 is the afterburning turbofan power source for the F-35 single-engine, Joint Strike Fighter jets in service with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and more than a dozen allied defense forces. Currently, Pratt is carrying out an Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) project to improve the propulsion system capabilities for all three variants of the F135 turbofan engine, in anticipation of the Department’s plan to upgrade the three different F-35 aircraft models.
The ECU is scheduled to be completed by 2029, on track with the F-35’s Technology Refresh-3 program.
According to the Pentagon announcement, the new Pratt contract will be completed by February 2028.
Funding for the three-year project will be allocated from the budgets for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and the DoD’s non-US partner funds.
The un-competed, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract will be carried out by Pratt & Whitney operations in Connecticut, as well as Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
