Pratt & Whitney has just completed 8,000 ground test hours with the F135 engine, the primary powerplant destined for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Coupled with earlier testing during the fighter’s concept demonstration program, the F135 now has more than 11,000 test hours, which company F-135 engine VP Bill Gostic says demonstrates the engine’s “maturity, flexibility, and reliability.” In other engine news, P&W has received a $1.05 billion from the Air Force for new deliveries of F117 engines for C-17 airlifters, with deliveries running through 2012. The Air Force also awarded the engine maker $1.3 billion for delivery of F119 engines over the next three years for the F-22A fighter—part of the Raptor’s new multi-year procurement program.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.
