General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136
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The General Electric/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team is developing the F136 advanced fighter engine designed specifically for the Joint Strike Fighter.
The GE/RR Fighter Engine Team includes GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, Ohio; Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England, and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The two companies hold 60% and 40% respectively.
All initial Lockheed Martin F-35s will be powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135. From 2009 to 2010 engine contracts will be split between P&W and the GE/RR F136. After 2010, the Lot 6 aircraft, the engine contracts will be competitively tendered, this should be in time for the UK JSF deliveries which will almost certainly be powered by the F136. Whatever powerplant is selected for other STOVL variants they will both employ the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem which incorporates:
- Rolls Royce LiftFan
- Engine to fan driveshaft
- Three-bearing swivel module (thrust vectoring)
- Roll posts
The engine delivers 18,000 lbf (80 kN), the LiftFan 20,000 lbf (89 kN) cold thrust and the roll posts 1,950 lbf (8.7 kN) for a sum of 39,950 lbf (178 kN) for the entire system, placing it in the 40,000 lbf (178 kN) thrust class. This compares with the maximum thrust of 23,800 lbf (106 kN) for the Harrier's Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine.
On July 21, 2004 the F136 began full engine runs at GE's Evendale, Ohio facility. The engine ran for over an hour during two separate runs.
[edit] Possible Cancellation of Program
In August 2005, DOD awarded the GE and Rolls-Royce team a $2.4 billion contract to develop its F136 engine. The contract was for the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the F136 initiative, scheduled to run until September 2013.
However, the US Defense budget announced on February 6, 2006 excludes the F136 — leaving Pratt & Whitney, maker of the F135 engine, as the sole provider of engines for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters.
Reports as early as December 2005 suggested this; an official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plan to cancel the program and recoup $1.8 billion in the coming years for other Air Force and Navy priorities was spelled out in an internal budget document. The document, known as the third program decision memorandum, is part of the Pentagon's FY 2007 budget process.
Canceling the alternate engine program is a big departure from the current plan. The Bush administration's FY-06 budget supports the alternate engine program. In fact, a year ago the Pentagon confirmed it would retain the alternate engine program in another internal directive known as program budget decision No. 753.
Although the White House favours canceling the alternate engine program, lawmakers have an opportunity to weigh in on the issue. In past years, members of Congress have been proponents of maintaining two engine developers for the JSF program. The Economist has reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair has lobbied President Bush on three separate occasions against cancellation due to the importance of the contract to British-based Rolls-Royce. British newspapers and the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry have commented that the failure of Tony Blair to persuade George Bush to approve development of the F136 shows an apparent disregard for a staunch ally in the War on Terror. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2028178,00.htm
Meanwhile, the joint General Electric/Rolls-Royce team continues to work on the F136 contract. In November, 2006, the team successfully completed a 3-month review by the F-35 Program Office and the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin. The next major milestone to be reached will be a Critical Design Review in late 2007.
[edit] External links
- GE Aircraft Engines F136 page
- Rolls-Royce F136 page
- www.jsf.mil: F135 gallery
- www.jsf.mil: F-35 Propulsion Systems
