Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, has secured a substantial contract valued at up to $2.8 billion for the production of engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This agreement involves the construction of 141 F135 propulsion systems, which will be distributed among various branches of the U.S. military, including the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, alongside international program partners and foreign military sales clients.
The work involved in this project will span multiple locations throughout the United States, with the primary production sites identified in Connecticut, Indiana, and Washington. Additionally, operations will extend to facilities in Maine, California, Michigan, Oregon, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, and other states, accounting for approximately 27.3 percent of total production, alongside select overseas facilities. The initiative is expected to be completed by February 2028, with oversight and coordination managed in conjunction with the Naval Air Systems Command based in Maryland.
The recent contract supports what the U.S. Department of Defense refers to as the full-rate production of Lot 18 for the Joint Strike Fighter program, which includes a total of 145 F-35 jets under an extensive $11.8 billion contract awarded in December 2024. The breakdown of deliveries specifies that the U.S. Air Force will receive 48 F-35As, while the U.S. Marine Corps will add 16 F-35Bs and five F-35Cs. The U.S. Navy is set to acquire 14 F-35Cs. Internationally, deliveries will comprise 39 F-35As and seven F-35Bs for foreign military sales customers, alongside 15 F-35As and one F-35B destined for unnamed non-program partners.
Most of the production for these aircraft will take place at Lockheed Martin’s facilities located in Texas and California, and the expected completion date for these tasks is June 2027.
The F135 engine, which plays a crucial role in the F-35, is an advanced afterburning turbofan derived from the F119 engine utilized in the F-22 Raptor, the U.S. military’s inaugural fifth-generation combat aircraft first introduced in the late 1990s. The F135 engine measures 220 inches in length and 46 inches in diameter, with a weight of up to 1,770 kilograms, depending on the specific variant. In the context of the F-35, the F135 is capable of generating an impressive 115,000 horsepower, enabling the aircraft to operate at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet and achieve a range exceeding 1,300 nautical miles. The engine also provides the F-35 with a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, translating to approximately 1,228 miles per hour.
