Pratt & Whitney received a $1.31 billion contract Sept. 30 to continue development of the F135 Engine Core Upgrade for the F-35 fighter. The program passed Preliminary Design Review in July, and, barring any problems, will go into Critical Design Review within a year.
The looming decision on the future of the F-35’s engine—Pratt & Whitney’s F135—has fostered plenty of debate, with some suggesting the F135 should be completely replaced with a new engine through the Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP), while others say integrating a new adaptive engine into...