The Air Force has awarded RTX’s Pratt & Whitney a $1.5 billion contract to sustain the F-22 Raptor fleet’s F119 engines for three years, the company announced Feb. 20.
A Pratt official said the contract covers “integrated logistics support, which means engineering, forecasting, manufacturing, purchasing and part order” for around 400 engines. The F-22 fleet numbers about 180 aircraft, each using two F119 engines, plus spares.
Pratt officials said they are also working on an “incremental modernization” of the F119, and have made a software update to increase thrust, which could be useful in case the Air Force needs to extend the F-22’s service life given uncertainties about the Next-Generation Air Dominance program.
“We’re currently in discussions with the Air Force and Lockheed [Martin] about initiating another update,” said Caroline Cooper, Pratt’s executive director for the F119, in a Feb. 19 call with reporters. Lockheed Martin is the airframe builder for the F-22.
Cooper noted that the F-22 “is undergoing modernization efforts, and as new capabilities are fitted in the airframe … the engine will play a critical role in supporting them.”
Pratt is trying to get ahead of any increase in engine requirements given “the uncertainty surrounding NGAD,” she noted.
As recently as three years ago, the Air Force planned to start retiring the F-22 in 2030 in favor of the sixth-generation NGAD, with officials saying they needed a new air dominance platform to stay ahead of adversary fifth-gen fighters like China’s J-20. Last year, however, the Air Force paused work on NGAD amid concerns about its cost and requirements. It will be up to the new Trump administration’s incoming Air Force leaders to decide NGAD’s fate.
In the interim, the Air Force has been preparing capability improvements for the Raptor, suggesting it will likely keep flying well Into the 2030s. These include infrared search and track systems, other improved sensors, reduced radar cross section and stealthy, low-drag fuel tanks to increase its range. The F-22 is also getting a new long-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, reportedly in flight test.
To those improvements, Pratt is adding its own proactive effort to improve the F119. That push “leverages learnings from a number of ongoing trade studies and internal investment,” Cooper said.
One approach, which also plays a key role in the new F119 sustainment contract, is the Usage-Based Lifing data tracking system, a Pratt spokesperson said.
The UBL system “leverages real-time data to enhance maintenance efficiency and extend engine life, while also improving the engine’s kinematic performance with an engine control schedule update,” the company said. “This latest contract will continue these readiness and cost savings efforts with a focus on safety, availability, simplicity of maintenance, and modernization initiatives.”
Cooper rolled out the F119 UBL effort in September 2024, saying the database is now the “single source of truth” about the health and performance of the F119.
“Through UBL, we leverage real-time flight data tracking; the actual wear-and-tear on engine parts,” Cooper said Feb. 19. “We get to see how the engine is reacting to the pilots’ needs versus simulator scenario planning. We use this data strategically to support sustainment needs, providing maintenance when it’s actually needed, versus when it’s forecast to be needed.”
The UBL system also uses digital tools and modeling to advise the Air Force when F119 parts need to be overhauled and how to efficiently buy spare parts, Cooper said.
“The program is deployed across our entire engine [fleet] and is helping to keep engines on-wing longer,” she reported, adding that “we expect UBL to save the U.S. government nearly $800 million over the life cycle of the program.”
The estimated savings would come by applying UBL data instead of the typical method of sustainment budgeting based on “historical data and average mission usage metrics,” the company said. Assumptions about spares usage couldn’t be tailored to a specific engine’s needs, and maintenance “might be performed earlier or later than necessary, leading to inefficiencies over the long run.”
With UBL, actual usage data “is continuously re-analyzed and allows the customer to take advantage of the full life of the engine parts while reducing risk to the fleet. By capturing full flight data, UBL allows the operator to assess exactly how the aircraft was flown and apply the appropriate level of lifing capacity that was used—saving time and money while improving readiness,” Pratt said.
Cooper added that the company is now looking to expand UBL to the F135 engine, which powers the F-35 fighter and was based on the F119.
The data collected has also revealed ways to “uncover improved engine performance for our customer,” Cooper said.
“From thorough flight data analysis and pilot interviews, we identified a desire to increase thrust. So, thanks to a software update that we delivered to Lockheed Martin in under a year, we were we were able to unlock enhanced performance for our engine,” she said.
The software change was made to the Full-Authority Digital Engine Control [FADEC], which shifted the automatic limits on what the engine would do “to enable greater kinematic performance,” a Pratt spokesperson said.
Cooper also said Pratt is pursuing additive manufacturing— 3-D printing—for F119 parts.
“We see real value in additive, not only to help simplify the supply chain, but also reduce production time and cost while leading to increased readiness,” she said. Pratt has already explored using additive production for F135 parts and is now expanding that to the F119, she said.
Asked if the Air Force has asked Pratt to start producing a stockpile of parts or take other measures in anticipation of retiring the F119, Cooper said such moves aren’t part of the three-year sustainment contract.
“We’re taking into consideration, again, that there is an NGAD pause, and obviously that was meant to replace the F-22. … As long as the Air Force keeps the F-22 flying, we’re committed to making sure that the F119 is optimal to employ all capabilities,” she said.
A company spokesperson later said that “follow-on contracts will be discussed with the customer as we collaboratively assess evolving needs.”
Pratt also received a $186 million Navy contract on Feb. 19 for material and support equipment for F135 depots and sustainment activities across all users.
The F119 generates more than 35,000 pounds of thrust, and allows the F-22 to operate above 65,000 feet. It was the first jet engine designed to “supercruise”: achieve and maintain supersonic speed without using afterburners.