F-135
High Performance Jet Engine for Lightning II
Pratt & Whitney announced today the
certification of its F135 engine to power the Lightning II's first
flight later this year after successfully completing all tests scheduled
to date. The F135 has achieved Initial Flight Release from the F-35
Joint Program Office (JPO). Robert Burnes, JPO F-35 propulsion director,
has declared all F135 tests and verification reports complete, clearing
the F-35 Lightning II to fly.
The JPO has certified the F135's flight worthiness to power the F-35
Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) flight test program. Pratt &
Whitney is the lead propulsion system supplier for the F-35 program. The
F-35 recently completed its first series of F135 engine runs culminating
in a full afterburner test with 40,000 pounds of thrust. The F135 engine
is on schedule to begin taxi testing this fall.
The technologically advanced F135 is an evolution of Pratt & Whitney's
highly successful F119 engine for the F-22 Raptor.
Together the F135 and F119 will have logged more than 800,000 hours
before the F-35's introduction into operational service in 2012. Rated
at more than 40,000 pounds of thrust, the F135 is the most powerful
fighter engine ever built.
The F135 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, providing lift
components for the STOVL F-35B; and UTC's Hamilton Sundstrand unit,
provider of the F135's control system, external accessories and gearbox.
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