With an option to award a 17th lot, Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies, announced on Monday that it had been given a $5.2 billion contract to support the manufacturing of the F135 engines that would power all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft.
Including exercised options, the overall contract value for lots 15–17 is close to $8 billion, and it will pay for more than 418 F135 engines, according to Pratt & Whitney.
With an option to acquire up to 518 engines, the deal funds the production of 278 F135 engines. Program management, engineering assistance, manufacturing support, and tooling are also included.
The F-135 engine for the F-35 fighter plane was placed on hold in December after a safety risk was discovered, but last month the U.S. government gave Pratt & Whitney permission to resume deliveries.
More than 1,000 F135 production engines have been supplied by Pratt & Whitney as of December 2022.
