Pratt & Whitney advances the use of metal Additive Manufacturing with its F135 and TJ150 engines
July 30, 2024
US defence contractor Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies business, headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA, informed Breaking Defense that it intends to use Additive Manufacturing (AM) for the F135 engine, which powers Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
This announcement follows Pratt & Whitney’s statement that the company had completed the preliminary design review (PDR) for the F135 Engine Core Upgrade (ECU), indicating that AM was part of that PDR. Pratt’s completion of the PDR means that the engine is on schedule for service by 2029.
“Pratt & Whitney is upgrading the F135 engine with technology from multiple development programmes to deliver increased capability and performance for the warfighter,” stated Chris Johnson, vice president of the company’s F135 programme. “Upgrading the F-35’s propulsion system to ECU is a critical step toward ensuring the F-35 remains the world’s premier air dominance fighter.”
At the Farnborough International Airshow, which took place from July 22-26, Pratt & Whitney also announced that it has redesigned TJ150 turbojet to now be entirely produced using Additive Manufacturing. This process reportedly involved reducing the number of parts from fifty to fewer than five. The company initially revealed its intention to use Additive Manufacturing for the complete TJ150 in 2021.
Pratt & Whitney intends the increase in production of the TJ150 — used for missiles and decoy drones — to aid the Air Force’s plan to ramp up the use of collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). It plans to start test flights of the new TJ150 engine as early as 2025.
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