Japanese industrial manufacturer IHI will supply parts used to build Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines that will power the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft being acquired by Japan, according to a 6 October P&W media release.
In addition, Pratt & Whitney and IHI are working together on a series of “industrial participation” contracts that may result in IHI assuming more F135 capabilities and assembling engines in Japan, says P&W.
The press release does not specify which components IHI will supply, and P&W tells Flightglobal in a statement that it “will not be discussing individual parts being qualified by IHI at this time.”
P&W, a division of United Technologies, also declined to say when IHI may start assembly in Japan, noting that the companies have not yet reached such an agreement.
P&W’s partnership with IHI started more than 30 years ago with work on the F100 engines that power Japan’s fleet of Boeing F-15Js.
Japan’s Ministry of Defence selected IHI as the prime contractor for F135 engines after the agency’s December 2011 decision to purchase 42 F-35As, which are the conventional take-off and landing variants of the fighter.
Initial deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2016.
The first four aircraft will be delivered from Lockheed’s Fort Worth site in Texas, while final assembly of remaining aircraft is expected to be completed at a facility being established with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
