Pratt & Whitney says it has developed the first performance upgrade to the F135 engine that powers the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnin...
Pratt & Whitney says it has developed the first performance upgrade to the F135 engine that powers the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.
Dubbed the Growth Option 1.0, the engines in this improved configuration can provide 5 to 6 percent fuel burn improvement and 6 to 10 percent thrust increase across the F-35 flight envelope.
The improvement was verified by the Fuel Burn Reduction Demonstrator Engine, which underwent testing at Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach, Florida facility,
Even though the current production F135 engine meets today's performance requirements, Pratt says the upgrade will enable future capability improvements associated with the F-35 weapon system's block upgrade program.
The upgrade can be carried out with low technical risk and low cost, while benefits of increased thrust and reduced fuel burn will provide even greater capability with respect to combat mission radius, acceleration, and sustained turn rate, as well as enable improvements in powered lift thrust.
The Growth Option 1.0 configuration is compatible with all three variants of the F-35 and limits hardware changes for the upgrade to just the F135 power module (compressor, combustor, turbine).
Growth Option 1.0 hardware can also be seamlessly inserted into future production engines at a minimal increase in unit cost and no impact to delivery schedule. Should the customer desire, the redesigned internal components of the power module could bring the same benefits to fielded F135 engines by performing a power module change.
Internal hardware upgrades for fielded engines would be accomplished during routine engine overhauls. The Growth Option 1.0 configuration is fully compatible with existing F135 global support sustainment infrastructure, mitigating significant investment in new facilities, processes, training or equipment.
Pratt & Whitney has been working through the U.S. Navy-sponsored F135 Fuel Burn Reduction (FBR) and Air Force-sponsored Component and Engine Structural Assessment Research (CAESAR) technology maturation programs.
