Pratt & Whitney has announced successful performance tests with its upgraded F135 turbo fan, which powers the f-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The test proves the upgrade could provide a 5% to 6% improvement in fuel burn while adding a 6%-10% thrust increase. The upgrades, part of the Navy-sponsored F135 Fuel Burn Reduction (FBR) and the Airforce-sponsored Component and Engine Structural Assessment Research (CAESER) programs, would provide greater capability with combat mission radius, acceleration, sustained turn rate, as well as enable improvements to powered lift thrusts.
Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced the successful completion of performance testing of its Fuel Burn Reduction Demonstrator Engine. Based on this success, Pratt & Whitney can now offer a Growth Option 1.0 upgrade configuration for the F135 engine, which powers the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. The engine testing, conducted at Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach, Florida, facility, verified this upgrade can provide a 5 to 6 percent fuel burn improvement and a 6 to 10 percent thrust increase across the F-35 flight envelope.
While the current production F135 engine meets today’s performance requirements, an F135 propulsion upgrade would enable future capability improvements associated with the F-35 weapon system’s block upgrade program. Pratt & Whitney has been working through the Navy-sponsored F135 Fuel Burn Reduction (FBR) and Air Force-sponsored Component and Engine Structural Assessment Research (CAESAR) technology maturation programs to develop a suite of compressor and turbine technologies, which can be used to enhance the performance of the F135 engine by decreasing fuel burn, increasing thrust, and improving hot section durability.
“Based on the demonstrated improvements, we see a potential path forward with the Growth Option 1.0 configuration for the F135 engine that could benefit the global fleet of F-35s in the near term at low technical risk and low cost, should the program desire an upgraded engine in the future,” said Matthew Bromberg, president, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. “The performance 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 developed an affordable upgrade for the F135 engine that can be ready for follow on modernization upgrades to the F-35 weapon system in the early 2020s,” said Bromberg. “As we look to future warfighter needs, we believe the options for increased thrust and fuel burn reduction improvements will translate directly into mission effectiveness, and help to ensure the F-35 weapon system continues to go above and beyond any potential threat.”
Source: Pratt & Whitney
Steve Schneider
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