$8M for Future Improvements to JSF STOVL Lift Fans
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United Technologies Corp. subsidiary Pratt & Whitney Military Engines in East Hartford, CT is being awarded an $8 million modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-04-D-0077) for the Lift Fan Thrust Improvement Program. This program will help improve the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) engine – see lift-fan in photo – that can deliver additional thrust to support potential future weight growth of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35B STOVL will be used by the US Marine Corps and Royal Navy, and may be purchased by the navies of Spain and Italy as well. The F-35 comes in three variants, including a conventional land-based (F-35A) and carrier-based (F-35C) version.
Work on this contract will be performed in Indianapolis, IN (80%); Middletown, CT (15%); and Bristol, United Kingdom (5%), and is expected to be completed in December 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
