EAST HARTFORD, CT -- Pratt & Whitney was recently awarded a $78 million production contract for F135 engines, powering the F-35 Lightning II. This low rate initial production (LRIP) contract covers F135 long lead material for seven conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) and seven short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. company.
"This contract allows Pratt & Whitney to acquire and produce F135 engine parts to support our customers and meet the F-35 production and delivery schedule," says Chris Flynn, director, Pratt & Whitney F135 engine programs.
This award is one in a series of milestones for the F135 engine program, including exceeding 10,000 ground test hours as part of the system development and demonstration program; logging 59 successful flight tests and more than 75 flight test hours of the F135-powered CTOL F-35 aircraft; and completing 14 flights of the F-35B powered by Pratt & Whitney's F135 STOVL propulsion system.
The F135 STOVL propulsion system team consists of Pratt & Whitney, the prime contractor with responsibility for the main engine and system integration; Rolls-Royce of the United Kingdom, which provides lift components for the STOVL F-35B; and United Technologies Corp.'s Hamilton Sundstrand unit, provider of the engine control system and gearbox.
