F135 Completes Final Flight Clearance Review, Paving the Way for the Lightning II First Flight

Pratt & Whitney, EAST HARTFORD: Pratt & Whitney today announced the F135 engine has cleared its third and final flight clearance review conducted by the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. The successful four-day review examined every part and engine module to ensure the Pratt & Whitney engine is qualified for flight. This clears the way for the first flight of the F-35 Lightning II later this year. Pratt & Whitney is a unit of United Technologies Corp. 
 
“This final review of the F135 is an important and significant milestone for Pratt & Whitney and the whole F-35 team,” said Bill Gostic, vice president, F135 engine programs for Pratt & Whitney. “Joint Program Office certification is very important — it means the F135 is ready to power the Lightning II's first flight.” 
 
Pratt & Whitney is the lead propulsion system supplier for the F-35 program. To date, the company has delivered three flight test engines, and the F135 will provide exclusive power for the F-35's first flights beginning with the Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variant's initial flights later this year. 
 
Nine F135 ground test engines have accumulated more than 5,800 hours of testing as part of Pratt & Whitney's System Development and Demonstration program. This is in addition to the more than 3,600 hours F135 engines have logged as the only engine to power all JSF concept demonstration ground and flight tests. 
 
The technologically advanced F135 is an evolution of the 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 Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) F-35B; and UTC's Hamilton Sundstrand unit, provider of the F135's control system, external accessories and gearbox.  
 
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies provides high-technology products and services to the aerospace and building industries.