The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's F136 alternate engine was expected to undergo its first full-up testing in the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) configuration in late March with the first clutch engagements of its lift-fan propulsion system.
Developed by the General Electric Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team, the STOVL power-plant had by mid-March amassed around 12h of preparatory testing in a clean configuration in Peebles, Ohio, says Tom Hartmann, senior vice-president for the F136.
Testing of the conventional take-off and landing version of the F136 is also on track to conclude by late April, with more than 110 operating hours already amassed, says Hartmann.
The F136 programme will enter a $2.3 billion system development and demonstration (SDD) phase late this year after negotiations conclude by 1 August, with the engine to undergo its preliminary design review in 2006.
The first of 16 development engines will enter test in 2008 ahead of a 2010 flight debut.
The engine will be offered as an alternative to the JSF's baseline Pratt & Whitney F135 engine beginning with Block 4 production aircraft from late 2010, and the design is likely to receive initial service release in 2012. But Hartmann says: "True and full competition won't start until 2016."
The GE/R-R team has offered business worth $3.5 million to Australian industry, including current supplier Production Parts of Victoria, for pre-SDD work on the F136 programme. The team has so far attracted industrial participation from seven of the nine JSF partner nations and new supplier agreements must be concluded late this year, says Hartmann.
CRAIG HOYLE/AVALON
Source: Flight International
