GE/RR F136 Jet Engine Passes Critical Design Review

F136 w. Lift System(click to view full) The US Air Force has repeatedly tried to kill the The F136 alternate engine program in favor of the Pratt & Whitney F135 that powers the existing fleet. In response, Congress looked at the success of dual-engine programs for the F-16 and now the F-15 as well, and voted twice to restore funding. F136 engine tests continue at a unique, new test facility, located at a GE center at Peebles, OH (normal & STOVL engines) as well as at the US Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee (basic F136 + F-35 exhaust nozzle). F-35 system development is scheduled to run through 2013, with the first production 40,000+ thrust F136 engines scheduled for delivery in “late 2012,” during F-35 Lot IV production. Until then, all F-35s will fly with the Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine, whose version for the F-35B STOVL fighter uses the same Rolls Royce Lift System add-ins that would be found in the F136… F136 Prototype(click to view full) Once the F136 is delivered, however, customers will be able to choose either engine for their F-35s. Britain, for instance, is almost certain to choose the GE/Rolls Royce F136, and […]