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GE’s first XA100 prototype engine will be prepared for testing in the Evendale, Ohio, test cell. (General Electric)
DAYTON, Ohio — The U.S. military’s industrial base for advanced fighter engines could be “on the verge of collapse” if the Air Force decides not to pursue a new adaptive engine for the F-35, an Air Force official said on Thursday.
The Air Force is currently considering moving to the next phase of the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), which will produce a new engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Canceling the AETP leaves the Air Force with just one advanced engine development program — the next-generation Adaptive Propulsion effort that will eventually power a manned, sixth-generation fighter that will be part of the service’s next-generation air superiority family of systems. That effort is set to narrow down to one supplier by the end of 2024, said John Snedden, director of the service’s propulsion directorate.
“If we end up with a vendor there and we don’t go forward with ATP, that vendor could really put us in a position where we have a reduced advanced propulsion industry base. So we are concerned,” he said in a statement to reporters at the Air Force Life Cycle Industry Days conference.
“I think there’s an understanding that we’re protecting our military interests, if not the future. And this is because we always get the greatest benefit in the world by being motivated. But the reality is that our leader is starting to – basically, we’re slowing down and we’re starting to lose.
Related: F-35 engine rivals prepare for another clash
While Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, and Rolls-Royce dominate the propulsion market for military aviation, only Pratt & Whitney and GE participate in the AETP and NGAP.
The service has not fielded a new fighter engine since the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that currently powers the F-35 and the service’s latest tactical aircraft programs such as the F-15EX and T-7A Red Hawk trainer. Engines.
Few details are known about the two NGAP designs due to Next Generation Air Supremacy Program classification. According to Sneden, the engine is completely developed in a digital environment using model-based engineering, which makes it easy to improve when new risks arise.
Currently, the contenders are working on preliminary designs, but financial constraints will force the Air Force to choose a design “around the end of 2024.”
Meanwhile, two EATP prototypes — GE’s XA100 and Pratt & Whitney’s XA101 — are in stalled testing and the Defense Department is set to determine the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the program as part of FY24 budget discussions.
If that happens, the department will be ready to hold a competition and select a single vendor in FY24, Snedden said.
They confirmed that both ATP engines were performing “beautifully” and could meet requirements for a 25 percent boost, 10 percent increase and double the power handling compared to the F135. That’s “really more than anything else,” Snedden said.
However, those engines aren’t built to support the F-35B’s short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities — meaning it will be up to the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps to weigh whether they’re willing to sacrifice commonality and take on higher costs. In exchange for a huge improvement in performance.
Meanwhile, the department could opt for an inexpensive upgrade package for the F135, which Pratt & Whitney says could increase engine size and thrust by 10 percent and double its thermal management capabilities.
Snedden, who advocates for the Air Force to continue AETP, said both options come with significant price tags.
“Our view is that you can optimize for performance or you can optimize for tri-variable commonality. We think the fighter deserves the performance features that AETP can provide,” he said. “Winning is expensive and we can’t afford to lose.”
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