Pratt & Whitney awarded F135 engine core upgrade contract

RTX business Pratt & Whitney has been awarded a contract valued up to $1.3 billion to continue work on the F135 engine core upgrade (ECU) to deliver enhanced durability to the engine used in the F-35 Lightning II. The ECU also provides power and cooling for Block 4 and beyond capabilities for all three variants of the F-35 global enterprise.

"This contract is critical to continuing our positive forward momentum on this program," said Jill Albertelli, president of Pratt & Whitney's Military Engines business. "It allows us to continue work in the risk reduction phase with a fully staffed team focused on design maturation, aircraft integration, and mobilizing the supply base to prepare for production."

In July, Pratt & Whitney announced it had completed the F135 ECU's preliminary design review which signified the alignment between Pratt & Whitney and the F-35 Joint Program Office on the upgrade's design. Today, more than 700 engineers and program managers are working full-time on the program.

"We are fortunate to have bipartisan and bicameral support from our congressional advocates, especially the Connecticut and Maine delegations led by senior appropriators Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Rosa DeLauro," said Jeff Shockey, senior vice president of RTX Global Government Relations. "Their steadfast commitment to the F135 ensures it will deliver critical capabilities for decades to come."

The F135 program is a major driver of economic growth in the states of Connecticut, Maine, and around the country, supporting more than 57,000 jobs across 43 states.

To date, Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 1,200 F135 production engines, with more than 900,000 engine flight hours recorded. The F135 ECU will be incorporated into F-35s at the point of production or retrofitted at one of the multiple F135 depot sustainment facilities around the world and will be available to all F-35 operators.