Forum: F-35 Engine

Lower Output Challenges F135 Costs at P&W By Michael Mecham 09 July 2012

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 474596.xml

"Pratt & Whitney “has some headwinds” as cutbacks in F-35 procurement and the termination of the F-22 will lead to a 30% reduction next year in production of fifth-generation combat engines, seriously challenging cost-reduction goals for the Joint Strike Fighter’s F135 powerplant.

“Our volume is coming down even as we continue to make great progress on the war on cost,” says Pratt & Whitney Military Engines president Bennett Croswell, who adds that unit cost for the conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) F135 has come down 25% since 2009. “We took $1.5 million out of the engine last year, in just one year.”

Production of F119s for the F-22 helped Pratt’s cost-reduction efforts for the derivative F135 engine as the two powerplants shared several common features such as integrated bladed rotors, hollow fan blades and low-observable coatings....

...He points out that total volumes over the life of the F-35 program have not been reduced, just stretched over a longer timeframe. “I think this will be like the F100 program [the engine that powers F-15 and F-16 fighters], which is now in its 40th year of production.”...

...Twelve production-standard F135s were delivered in 2010, some 27 in 2011, and 24 through June this year."

http://www.aviationweek.com/media/image ... 135-PW.jpg

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