The Messy Battle to Build the F-35's Next Engine

Summary

This article by Sébastien Roblin, writing for Popular Mechanics, makes the following points:

• The F-35 uses Pratt & Whitney’s F135 turbofan engine or the F-135-600 version for the F-35B jump-jet model.
• The Block 4 upgrade is now in progress but requires an engine to generate more electricity for its systems.
• Failure to improve the engine would reportedly raise operating costs and reduce engine life.
• The question is whether the F135 engine should receive an evolutionary update or be entirely replaced.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• F-35 01: COLLECTION | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• SEP 2022 Five Reasons Buying An All-New Engine For The Air Force’s F-35 Fighters Is A Real Bad Idea—Forbes
• NOV 2022 9 reasons why the F-35 needs a new engine—Breaking Defense
• DEC 2022 USAF Awards General Electric $303M Adaptive Engine Contract—The Defense Post
• DEC 2022 Raytheon Targets F135 Engine Core Upgrade for 24 F-35 Squadrons by 2030—Aviation Today
• JAN 2023 New F-35 engine deliveries suspended amid ongoing investigation—Defense News
• FEB 2023 GE continues pushing F-35 engine replacement over upgrade—Flight Global
• FEB 2023 GE Says New F-35 Engine Would Refresh Propulsion Industrial Base—Air & Space Forces Magazine

Source Information:

• Article Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/
• Media Check: Popular Mechanics - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
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