Pratt & Whitney F135: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The F135 afterburning turbofan is the primary powerplant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company, developed the engine from their F119 turbofan which powers the F/A-22 Raptor.

All inital F-35s will be powered by the F135. From 2009-2010 engine contracts will be split between P&W and the F136. The General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 turbofan is also being developed specifically for the F-35. After 2010, the Lot 6 aircraft, the engine contracts will be competitively tendered. Whatever powerplant is selected for STOVL variants they will both employ the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem ® which incorporates:

• Rolls Royce LiftFan ®
• Engine to fan driveshaft
• 3 Bearing swivel module (thrust vectoring)
• Roll posts

The engine delivers 18,000 lbf, the LiftFan 20,000 lbf cold thrust and the roll posts 1,950 lbf each for a sum of 39,950 lbf for the entire system. This compares with the a maximum thrust of 23,800 lbf for the Harrier's Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine.

The P&W F135 Team

• Pratt & Whitney
  Prime Contractor, main engine, systems integration
• Rolls-Royce
  Vertical lift system for STOVL
• Hamilton Sundstrand
  Also a UT company, Control System, accessories, gearbox