General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136
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The GE/RR F136 is an advanced turbofan engine being developed by General Electric/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team specifically for the F-35 Lightning II.
The GE/RR Fighter Engine Team includes GE Aviation in Cincinnati, Ohio; Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The two companies hold 60% and 40% respectively. GE in turn has a partnership with Turkish Engine Industries (TEI) and is working together on some parts of the F-136 engine[1].
[edit] Development
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All initial F-35s will be powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135. After 2010, the engine contracts will be competitively tendered from Lot 6 onward. The Rolls-Royce LiftSystem will be used in the F-35B STOVL variant regardless of which powerplant is selected, 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.
In August 2005, the United States Department of Defense 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 excluded the F136 — leaving Pratt & Whitney, maker of the F135 engine, as the sole provider of engines for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters. Congress, however, overturned this request and allocated funds for FY 2007 later in 2006.
Reports as early as December 2005 suggested this; an official, speaking on condition of anonymity,[citation needed] 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 budget process.
Canceling the alternate engine program is a big departure from the current plan. The Bush administration's FY 2006 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 favors canceling the alternate engine program,[citation needed] in past years, members of Congress have been proponents of maintaining two engine developers for the Joint Strike Fighter 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.
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.
As of February, 2007, the Pentagon, in their proposed 2008 fiscal budget, have eliminated funding for the further development of the F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. However, this decision is yet to be approved by Congress and both Rolls-Royce and General Electric continue to seek support from key players in Congress.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- GE Aircraft Engines F136 page
- Rolls-Royce F136 page
- www.jsf.mil: F135 gallery
- www.jsf.mil: F-35 Propulsion Systems
- [1]
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