Pratt & Whitney announced yesterday at the Paris Air Show that it has delivered the first production hardware for the engine enhancement package that it has been developing under Air Force sponsorship for the F100-PW-229 powerplant used on service F-15s and F-16s as well as Navy and foreign fighters. The EEP was created to reduce the cost of F100-PW-229 ownership dramatically by increasing its depot inspection intervals from 4,300 cycles to 6,000 cycles. This means that the engines will require scheduled depot maintenance only once every 10 to 14 years versus the current seven to nine years, thereby reducing expected lifecycle costs by 30 percent, the company said. The EEP incorporates technologies from the F-22’s F119 engine and the F135 engine under development for the F-35.
U.S. aircraft, drones, and attack helicopters have launched significant airstrikes in recent days against Islamic State militants in Syria as part of the renewed air campaign against remnants of the group, U.S. officials said.
