Pratt & Whitney F135

The contractual milestone ends a four-year negotiating process with the F-35 Joint Program Office as the U.S. Air Force evaluates a replacement engine.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has issued a directive recommending that all Pratt & Whitney F135 engines be retrofitted within 90 days.

Pratt & Whitney says it has developed an “immediate resolution” to the F135 engine problem that caused the crash of a Lockheed Martin F-35B.

GE Aerospace is beginning design work for a production standard version of the XA100 adaptive engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35.

The 407,000-sq.-ft., $424 million facility is scheduled to begin construction at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, in fiscal 2026.

The F-35 Joint Program Office is expecting a cost-per-tail increase on the aircraft as negotiations with prime contractor Lockheed Martin continue beyond initial expected deadlines.