The recipients of the engines will include both the U.S. armed forces and international customers. Deliveries under the contract are scheduled to be completed by February 2028, with an initial tranche of $2 billion already allocated at the time of signing.
So far, Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 1,200 serial F135 engines, which together with F-35 aircraft are in service with 12 countries worldwide. The engines have logged over one million flight hours, increasingly in combat and operational missions across various regions.
From 2028, the company expects to begin supplying upgraded engines designed to generate savings of around $40 billion over the lifetime of the global fleet. The F135 engine modernisation programme is one of two initiatives aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II Block 4 and later variants.
The second project, also under development by RTX companies, concerns the delivery of the EPACS power and cooling module. This programme has reached the prototype testing stage and is intended to increase electrical power supply for onboard systems, as well as support planned future modifications to the aircraft with improved cooling and energy capacity.
