Pratt & Whitney worked closely with Northrop Grumman on engine requirements and integration for the program. The company also carried out an extensive test campaign to adapt the commercial PW500 engine family to meet the operational demands of Collaborative Combat Aircraft missions.
According to the company, testing simulated flight and mission conditions specific to the CCA role. The results demonstrated favorable performance in thrust, range, and operability.
Peter Sommerkorn, vice president of Military Development Programs at Pratt & Whitney, said: “Leveraging commercial technology allowed us to innovate faster, while balancing cost and critical performance enhancements for the CCA mission.”
He added: “The Pratt & Whitney team took a production engine, with more than 24.5 million flight hours, self-invested in key validation and capability improvement, and integrated it into Talon Blue.”
The PW500 engine family is one of several commercial engines currently in production that can support a range of Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs. Pratt & Whitney said it is also working with an international customer and is in discussions with additional airframe manufacturers on further opportunities.
Pratt & Whitney, a business unit of RTX, designs, manufactures, and services aircraft engines and auxiliary power units for military, commercial, and civil aviation customers. The company supports more than 90,000 engines in service worldwide through its global maintenance, repair, and overhaul network.
