Pratt & Whitney announced Monday that it has delivered the first F135 spare engine to the F-35 schoolhouse at Eglin AFB, Fla., to support the strike fighter’s training operations. Those activities are set to commence there this summer. “Delivery of the first F135 engine to Eglin in support of training operations is a significant milestone for the F-35 program,” said Chris Flynn, vice president for the company’s F135 and F119 engine programs. Flynn said Pratt has completed delivery of the F135s built during the first two production lots and has started delivering Lot 3 engines. The company also recently signed the contract to supply 37 Lot 4 engines. F135s have powered all three F-35 configurations in nearly 1,000 flights, accumulating 1,450 flight hours, according to Pratt. This includes enabling more than 110 “flawless” vertical landings with the Marine Corps F-35B variant, the company said.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…