Pratt & Whitney to power Leidos’ Black Arrow cruise missile with proven TJ150 engine

By Defence Industry Europe

Pratt & Whitney, a business unit of RTX, has secured a contract from Dynetics, a Leidos company, to deliver TJ150 engines for integration with its Small Cruise Missile system, named Black Arrow. The engine is a lightweight, high-performance turbojet with established scalability and rapid manufacturing capabilities.
Photo: Leidos.

Pratt & Whitney, a business unit of RTX, has secured a contract from Dynetics, a Leidos company, to deliver TJ150 engines for integration with its Small Cruise Missile system, named Black Arrow. The engine is a lightweight, high-performance turbojet with established scalability and rapid manufacturing capabilities.

 

With 150 pounds of thrust, the TJ150 is capable of high-altitude operations and is suited to various autonomous systems and weapon platforms. It has already been deployed in several missile applications, with more than 2,700 units delivered globally.

Chris Hugill, executive director of Pratt & Whitney GATORWORKS, stated: “Our TJ150 engines exemplify the modified off-the-shelf solutions that Pratt & Whitney has available for advanced and cost-efficient effectors at scale.” He added: “Production capacity is in place today, ahead of demand, which strongly positions our TJ150 engine for a range of high-rate production scenarios.”

The current contract work began in April 2025 and is scheduled to continue through the first quarter of 2026. Although initial integration studies started in 2023, the new agreement includes options for additional engine deliveries.

 

 

Leidos confirmed that the Black Arrow missile, powered by the TJ150, successfully completed a guided test flight in late 2024. Mark Miller, senior vice president for Missile and Aviation Systems at Leidos, said: “The ability to rely on a proven propulsion system like the TJ150 frees up our team to focus on optimizing the missile to meet the needs of the strike weapons community.”

Pratt & Whitney is also leveraging additive manufacturing technologies to enhance the TJ150 engine. This approach aims to maintain reliability while improving production flexibility and expanding supply base options.

 

 

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