Pratt & Whitney has been awarded a contract worth up to $1.5 billion to support the F119 engines powering the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
According to the company, the goal is to improve readiness and reduce costs for more than 400 engines that have already accumulated more than 900,000 flight hours.
“The F119’s readiness and reliability rates have never been more important, and we are improving both while lowering lifecycle costs,” said Jill Albertelli, president of Military Engines at Pratt & Whitney. “We are committed to helping our U.S. Air Force customer maintain the F-22’s combat edge.”
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Pratt & Whitney has managed to reduce the operating cost of the F119 engine through the Usage Based Living program, which uses real-time data to improve maintenance efficiency and extend engine life; in addition to improving engine kinematic performance with an updated engine control schedule.
The new contract will follow this same path to increase its readiness and generate cost savings.
The F-22 Raptor fighter was developed by Lockheen Martin and entered service in 2005. 195 aircraft were produced, of which 187 were in series, delivered to the U.S. Air Force.
The F-119-F100 engine has a thrust of 35,000 pounds and is capable of maintaining supersonic flight without the use of afterburners, the so-called “supercruise”.
The stealth fighter has vectorable nozzles, which increase maneuverability. The F119 engine gave rise to the F135, which is used by another US stealth fighter, the F-35, also manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
