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On March 30, the U.S. Department of Defense publicized a $3.8 billion alteration to an existing agreement, intended for the acquisition of F135 powerplants for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, procured from the supplier Pratt & Whitney.
This adjustment formalizes—or, in procurement parlance, “definitizes”—the eighteenth batch of F135s. Furthermore, it makes provisions for the manufacture of powerplants destined for the nineteenth batch of F-35s, as communicated by the Department of Defense in a contract disclosure.
The F-35 Joint Program Office refrained from answering inquiries from Air & Space Forces Magazine concerning the total number of powerplants encompassed by the agreement. Nevertheless, the Department of Defense granted Lockheed Martin an accord last summer for 296 aircraft structures across the eighteenth and nineteenth batches. Concurrently, the department presented Pratt & Whitney with a $2.88 billion undefinitized contractual prize for the eighteenth batch, specifically for the fabrication of 141 powerplants.
This implies the nineteenth batch will comprise approximately 150 powerplants—a quantity a JPO representative verified to Breaking Defense.
RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, remarked in a March 31 declaration that the aggregate worth of the accord for the eighteenth and nineteenth batches totals $6.6 billion.
“The F135 represents the planet’s most sophisticated military powerplant, providing unparalleled thrust, dependability, and operational preparedness for the United States and its partners,” asserted Jill Albertelli, who serves as president of military powerplants for Pratt & Whitney, within the firm’s declaration. “Pratt & Whitney is committing significant capital throughout our worldwide manufacturing infrastructure and logistical network to augment output and expedite powerplant distribution and upkeep, thereby addressing the escalating international need for the F-35 initiative.”
The agreement will enable Pratt & Whitney to continue fabricating F135 powerplants without interruption, in addition to guaranteeing it upholds the requisite capacity, specialized equipment, and logistical network operations, according to RTX. This encompasses full-scale manufacturing powerplants, initial replacement parts, components, engineering expertise, initiative supervision, and exclusive production assistance provisions.
The Department of Defense stated that completion of the powerplant work is anticipated by March 2028 and is slated to occur at various sites, among them Connecticut and Indianapolis.
RTX indicated that Pratt & Whitney has allocated over $1 billion during the past half-decade to augment and update its capability to manufacture powerplants, a move which has propelled F135 output rates by 20 percent.
Assuming the eighteenth and nineteenth batches consist of approximately 296 powerplants, the mean expenditure per powerplant would hover around $22.6 million.
The agreement for the F-35 aircraft structure concerning the eighteenth and nineteenth batches, in contrast, stood at $24.29 billion—positioning the mean cost of the aircraft structure, encompassing all variants and clientele, at $82.4 million.
Taken together, this situates the mean expenditure for an F-35 within these batches at roughly $105 million. This expense, notwithstanding, may fluctuate considerably based on the specific version. For instance, the F-35B, designed for short takeoff and landing, might incur an additional cost exceeding $20 million per aircraft compared to the Air Force’s F-35A. The JPO still needs to itemize expenditures by version for the latest batches.
This article’s audio content is presented by the Air & Space Forces Association, which venerates and assists our Airmen, Guardians, and their relatives. Discover additional information at afa.org