Pratt & Whitney, WEST PALM BEACH: Pratt & Whitney's F135 program has surpassed 2,500 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) test hours, underscoring the engine's unmatched maturity and reliability.
This significant milestone, achieved during engine runs at the company's advanced test facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., represents the cumulative hours of F135 SDD testing, including both Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL)/Carrier Variant (CV), and Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) configuration tests.
The 2,500 SDD test hours are in addition to the more than 3,500 test hours the F135 accumulated during the Concept Demonstration Aircraft (CDA) phase of the F-35 development program.
“This achievement is a testament to the F135 propulsion team,” said Bill Gostic, vice president, F135 engine programs for Pratt & Whitney. “We are now focused on completing testing required for Initial Flight Release qualification and delivering the first flight test engine in December of this year.”
To date, the Pratt & Whitney led F135 propulsion team has delivered three CTOL/CV configuration and four STOVL configuration F135 engines to test for a total of seven engines delivered on or ahead of schedule. The technologically advanced F135, power for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is an evolution of the highly successful F119 engine for the F/A-22 Raptor. Together the F135 and F119 will have logged more than one million flight hours in support of the F-35's introduction into operational service in 2012.
Pratt & Whitney will deliver the first flight test engine in December in preparation for Initial Flight Release in January 2006 and first flight in August 2006. Production deliveries of the F135 are scheduled to begin in early 2009.
Several key tests were included in the latest round of engine runs, including three bearing swivel module (3BSM) functional tests, roll posts aeromechanical tests, and integrated systems tests with Lockheed Martin Corp.
The F135 propulsion system team consists of Pratt & Whitney, the prime contractor with responsibility for the main engine and system integration; Rolls-Royce, providing the LiftFan, three bearing swivel module and roll posts to the STOVL F-35B; and Hamilton Sundstrand, provider of the F135's control system, external accessories and gearbox.
Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines.
