Pratt & Whitney’s F135 initial flight test powerplant for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has finished successful runs at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., which is near Lockheed Martin’s final assembly plant, according to a company statement. The company says the runs took place at an indoor facility that had been modified to handle the new engine’s 40,000 pounds of thrust—which makes it “the most powerful fighter engine ever built.”
The Air Force won’t finalize a new deal with Boeing for another 75 KC-46 tankers until some of the “deficiencies” with the refueler are resolved, new Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John D. Lamontagne told lawmakers March 4.