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More JSF engine parts to be made in the Netherlands
July 8, 2005 (by
Lieven Dewitte) -
Rolls-Royce today awarded contracts to DutchAero, the AVIO and Philips joint venture company based in Eindhoven, for the manufacture of components for the F136 engine which is being developed in partnership with General Electric to power the Joint Strike Fighter.
The GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team (FET) comprises: GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England; and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
DutchAero will be responsible for producing a huge 1.1m diameter component known as a bladed disk or "blisk". This first stage compressor blisk will be machined from a large solid titanium forging and is one of the largest ever used in a military engine. The blisk will be fitted into an F136 engine (number 002/2), which is due to run next year as part of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program.
This contract award further increases the Dutch contribution to the F136 engine programme.
Working in close collaboration with DutchAero, Nedtech Engineering of Uithoorn has already been contracted for detailed design work on a number of components. One significant example of this cooperation is the fan case, a major component that will be designed with Nedtech involvement and manufactured by DutchAero, making it the only example of an aero engine part designed and manufactured in Holland.
Commenting on the contract award, Martin Farmer Rolls-Royce F136 Sales Executive for the Netherlands said "Our alliance with both DutchAero and Nedtech means that they play a significant role in our F136 program. Both companies have helped the FET to successfully complete our pre-SDD test plan ahead of schedule and below budget. This contract means that Engine 002 will have a combination of world-leading technology from FET and world-class design and manufacturing capability from the Netherlands."
Jeroen Botden, DutchAero Chief Executive Officer, said "This contract will mean that key, high technology components for the F136 Joint Strike Fighter engine will be manufactured in the Netherlands. It enables DutchAero to further develop our manufacturing technologies and prepares us for SDD of the F136 which is due to commence in August 2005."
Nedtech Managing Director Wim van Beinum, who has engineers working in the UK and the Netherlands on the F136, added "Our participation with FET helps the Netherlands to develop sustainable capability in the design and manufacture of key gas turbine components."
GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, with responsibility for 60 percent of the F136 program, is developing the core compressor and coupled high-pressure/low-pressure turbine system components, controls and accessories, and the augmentor. Rolls-Royce, with 40 percent of the F136 program, is responsible for the front fan, combustor, stages 2 and 3 of the low-pressure turbine, and gearboxes. International participant countries are also contributing to the F136 through involvement in engine development and component manufacturing.
Today's GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team can trace its technical roots back to 1994, when GE and the then Allison Engine Company formed a teaming agreement to work together on IHPTET ? the U.S. Government's Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Program. Since then, the FET has steadily proven its business and technology case to produce the F136 interchangeable engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in becoming an integral member of the JSF team.
DutchAero will be responsible for producing a huge 1.1m diameter component known as a bladed disk or "blisk". This first stage compressor blisk will be machined from a large solid titanium forging and is one of the largest ever used in a military engine. The blisk will be fitted into an F136 engine (number 002/2), which is due to run next year as part of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program.
This contract award further increases the Dutch contribution to the F136 engine programme.
Working in close collaboration with DutchAero, Nedtech Engineering of Uithoorn has already been contracted for detailed design work on a number of components. One significant example of this cooperation is the fan case, a major component that will be designed with Nedtech involvement and manufactured by DutchAero, making it the only example of an aero engine part designed and manufactured in Holland.
Commenting on the contract award, Martin Farmer Rolls-Royce F136 Sales Executive for the Netherlands said "Our alliance with both DutchAero and Nedtech means that they play a significant role in our F136 program. Both companies have helped the FET to successfully complete our pre-SDD test plan ahead of schedule and below budget. This contract means that Engine 002 will have a combination of world-leading technology from FET and world-class design and manufacturing capability from the Netherlands."
Jeroen Botden, DutchAero Chief Executive Officer, said "This contract will mean that key, high technology components for the F136 Joint Strike Fighter engine will be manufactured in the Netherlands. It enables DutchAero to further develop our manufacturing technologies and prepares us for SDD of the F136 which is due to commence in August 2005."
Nedtech Managing Director Wim van Beinum, who has engineers working in the UK and the Netherlands on the F136, added "Our participation with FET helps the Netherlands to develop sustainable capability in the design and manufacture of key gas turbine components."
GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, with responsibility for 60 percent of the F136 program, is developing the core compressor and coupled high-pressure/low-pressure turbine system components, controls and accessories, and the augmentor. Rolls-Royce, with 40 percent of the F136 program, is responsible for the front fan, combustor, stages 2 and 3 of the low-pressure turbine, and gearboxes. International participant countries are also contributing to the F136 through involvement in engine development and component manufacturing.
Today's GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team can trace its technical roots back to 1994, when GE and the then Allison Engine Company formed a teaming agreement to work together on IHPTET ? the U.S. Government's Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Program. Since then, the FET has steadily proven its business and technology case to produce the F136 interchangeable engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in becoming an integral member of the JSF team.
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