Stay updated with breaking news from Engine Core Upgrade. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
“Now that we understand that 80 kilowatts is a must-have, it was the mission of: how do we get there, with the lowest impact to the overall airframe?” Honeywell Aerospace’s Matt Milas told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview.
The engine upgrades are expected to give the F-35 more power, thrust and cooling ability as well as allow a major modernization of the fighter.
“Like all programs, the continuing resolution has the potential to have an impact. We have not worked through all the details if we had a sequestration scenario,” Pratt & Whitney's Jennifer Latka said about a stalled budget on Capitol Hill. “What I know now is that our schedule is on track, that we have identified funding to continue, and that’s not to say that that situation cannot change.”
Pratt & Whitney plans to start delivering the upgraded engines by 2029.
In a tour of Collins Aerospace's facilities, executives said their new thermal management solution for the F-35 achieved a key benchmark, though the Pentagon hasn't yet decided on a competition at all.