How the world’s most powerful and advanced fighter jet engine is made
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The Smart Decision for The F-35
The F135 Engine Core Upgrade (ECU): variant-common, combat-tested, coalition-assured, and cost-effective. For full Block 4 capability and tens of billions of lifecycle cost savings to keep our military on the leading edge.
F135 ECU Is the Most Cost-effective, Lowest-risk Propulsion Modernization Solution for the F-35 Weapons System
As the air vehicle grows, so must the engine. Designed with the knowledge that operational environments evolve and threats advance, the F135’s modular design and advanced digital architecture allow for spiral development and insertion of both hardware and software – ensuring the F-35 outpaces emerging threats.
Pratt & Whitney developed ECU, a block upgrade for the F135, with the objective of providing an affordable, low risk, and agile pathway to fielding meaningful propulsion capability for all F-35 customers. F135 ECU leverages Department of Defense investments in adaptive technology to deliver the capability needed for Block 4 aircraft, while maintaining the variant -commonality and international partnership approach that the joint program was built upon. Doing so maximizes affordability for all, with F135 ECU generating tens of billions of lifecycle cost savings.
Additionally, low technical risk is a must for pilot safety on a single -engine fighter. Based on operational experience, today’s F135 is the safest fighter engine ever produced. As a derivative design, F135 ECU builds upon the same proven architecture that has more than one million flight hours of safe and dependable operation so pilots can complete their mission and return home safely.
F135 ECU: Variant-common. Combat-Tested. Coalition-Assured.
F135 ECU meets the timeline and necessary requirements to support Block 4 aircraft without disrupting the program of record or driving increased cost and risk.
F135 ECU is the only modernization solution that maintains variant commonality, a foundational element of the F-35 program’s design to drive economies of scale and reduce cost. As such, the F135 ECU upgrade leverages the existing production and sustainment infrastructure, and maintains the current cost share ratios with the Services and Partners. Additionally, F135 ECU is production cost neutral, retaining the sizable affordability investments that have been made to date.
All told, F135 ECU saves the taxpayer tens of billions of lifecycle cost savings over the life of the program, making it the most cost -effective modernization available for the F -35 enterprise. Those are substantial savings that can be put to use for other modernization priorities across the Department of Defense.
F135 ECU upgrades an engine that is combat -tested and serving the warfighter now, powering missions for more than a dozen customers around the world. As a derivative design, F135 ECU builds upon a proven architecture that has more than one million flight hours of dependable operation between the F135 and the F119, which powers the F -22 Raptor.
Weight neutral and requiring minimal airframe integration testing, the F135 ECU upgrade was designed from the onset to be integrated into production and/or retrofit during engine overhaul – enabling the accelerated fielding of fully supported Block 4 capabilities in the capacity needed by the warfighter.
F135 ECU’s variant commonality strengthens the combat capability and capacity of key allies who serve as a vital pillar in U.S. national security and defense strategies at a time when geopolitical instability across the globe is increasing.
The F135 ECU upgrade enables critical Block 4 capability for all F-35 operators, while maintaining the international partnership and alliance approach of the program -- preserving the ability to share cost and logistics over a broad enterprise to ensure F-35 interoperability and sustainability across multiple variants and users.
F135 ECU leverages the Department of Defense’s investment in adaptive technology to deliver the required capability growth – all within the confines of the existing program construct. This means the F135 ECU upgrade incorporates the latest in propulsion technology to meet necessary requirements for Block 4, while retaining variant - commonality to maximize affordability.
F135 ECU delivers performance improvements in range, thrust, and thermal management capacity for all variants as well as powered lift for the F -35B variant.
