Pratt & Whitney lands $1.03B contract for F-35 engines

WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- Defense aviation firm Pratt & Witney have landed a $1.03 billion deal to build a slate of new propulsion systems for the U.S. and international variants of the F-35 Lighting II fighter jet.

Under the terms of the deal, a modification to a previous procurement pact reached between the company and F-35 program officials, Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies subsidiary, will build 67 F135 jet engines for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and F-35 partner nations.

The Air Force will receive the bulk of the engine buy with 28 F-135-PW-600 jet engines for the service's conventional takeoff and landing F-35A variant, according to the contract issued Monday The air service will also receive "three spare propulsion systems and one trainer propulsion system."

The Navy and Marine Corps will get a total of 10 engines for their growing F-35 fleet. The Marine Corps will receive six F135-PW-600 engines for their short takeoff and landing F-35B, which is slated to replace the AV-8B Harrier jump jet.

The Navy will get the remaining four F-135-PW-100 engines for its carrier-based variant of the fifth-generation fighter jet. The F-35C is scheduled to replace the Navy's current sea-based F/A-18 fleet.

Partner nation forces will receive a total of 25 engines, seven F135-PW-600s and 18 F135-PW-100s. Along with the United States, the F-35 international consortium includes United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Israel and Singapore.

The F-35 Lighting II program is the most expensive military program to date. The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to announce their variant of the multi-role fighter is fit to fly between August and December. The Marine Corps declared initial operating capability for their F-35 fleet in 2015.