RTX’s Pratt & Whitney is developing a new scalable family of low-cost jet engines, designed to power cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). Ranging from 500 to 1,800 pounds of thrust, the unnamed engine line emphasizes speed, affordability, and flexibility, using additive manufacturing to accelerate development and production. Testing begins later in 2025, with additional trials in 2026, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. Developed by Pratt’s GatorWorks team, the engine family aims to meet growing U.S. and international demand for modular propulsion solutions adaptable across a variety of unmanned and expendable systems. They write:
RTX’s Pratt & Whitney unit is developing a new family of engines aimed at powering new low-cost cruise missiles, munitions, and Collaborative Combat Aircraft, company officials told reporters in a Sept. 15 briefing.
The new engine family, which has not yet been given a name, is “scalable” from 500 to 1,800 pounds of thrust, according to Jill Albertelli, president of Pratt’s military engines division. Testing is imminent and a further series is planned in 2026, she said. […]
“This new family of engines prioritizes development speed and affordability,” Albertelli said. “We’re using additive manufacturing so we can help work on cost, but also speed-to-market of this capability. […]
Pratt is “seeing strong demand from both the services and international customers for CCAs, and we really have been able to provide solutions that we’re looking to field faster, again, moving at the speed of relevance,” she said. […]
The Air Force’s first increment of CCAs are entering flight testing, but the service has yet to define Increment 2 publicly, and “maybe the second one … has different requirements, but that’s why being able to utilize some commercial, off-the-shelf and being ready now with engines that exist could really shorten that timeline, to be able to field the different requirements and the different applications needed.” […]
Read more here.
