United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, is being awarded a $64.9 mission cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F135 Propulsion System Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot VI recurring sustainment, operations, and maintenance efforts, the US Department of Defence announced.
Efforts include labor and materials required to maintain and repair F135 propulsion systems; sustainment labor consisting of fleet and material management, sustaining engineering, and joint services technical data updates; and material required to support fielded propulsion systems and support equipment after unit and depot activations at production, training, and operational locations.
Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. (54 percent); Indianapolis, Ind. (31 percent); and Bristol, United Kingdom (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2013.
This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Marine Corps (69 percent), the U.S. Air Force (26 percent) and the U.S. Navy ( 5 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Pratt & Whitney has designed, developed and tested the F135 to deliver the most advanced fifth generation fighter engine for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, as well as for eight international partner countries. The F135 is derived from proven technology of the only operational fifth generation fighter engine, the Pratt & Whitney F119 that exclusively powers the F-22 with more than 300,000 engine hours. It has been further enhanced with technologies developed in several Air Force and Navy technology demonstration programs.
The F135 propulsion system has proven through extensive ground and flight test experience that it can meet diverse aircraft requirements, for armed forces around the world. The Pratt & Whitney F135 engine continues to be the only engine powering the successful Lockheed Martin F-35 Flight Test Program.
[mappress]
Naval Today Staff, February 15, 2013