DOD and Pratt & Whitney Announce Principle Agreement on Purchase of 167 F135 Engines

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The U.S. Department of Defense and Pratt & Whitney have reached an agreement in principle on production contracts for the ninth and tenth lots of F135 propulsion systems to power all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

The latest agreement continues to support program affordability initiatives with continued reduction in price associated with propulsion system production. The ninth and tenth low rate initial production (LRIP) contracts will cover 66 and 101 total engines respectively, as well as program management, engineering support, production non-recurring efforts, spare modules and spare parts.

„This agreement for the next two lots of F135 engines continues to drive down costs and that’s critical to making the F-35 more affordable for the U.S. military and our allies,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer. „We are ramping up production and witnessing tangible results.”

The total award value will be released when the LRIP 9-10 contracts are finalized; however, in general, the unit prices for the 53 LRIP 9 and 87 LRIP 10 conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and carrier variant (CV) propulsion systems reduced 3.4 percent from the previously negotiated LRIP 8 price to the negotiated LRIP 10 price. The unit prices for the 13 LRIP 9 and 14 LRIP 10 short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion systems (including lift systems) reduced 6.4 percent from the previously negotiated LRIP 8 price to the negotiated LRIP 10 price.

„Pratt & Whitney and our supply base are focused on delivering the F135 propulsion system to the warfighter at or below the cost targets,” said Mark Buongiorno, vice president, Pratt & Whitney F135 Engine Program. „We continue to make good on the commitments we have made to our U.S. and International customers.”

To date, Pratt & Whitney has delivered 262 F135 engines. Deliveries of LRIP 9 engines will begin this year and deliveries of LRIP 10 engines will start in 2017.

Source / Author: Pratt & Whitney
Photo: Pratt & Whitney