F-35 Engine Deal

The Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney announced this morning that they have reached an agreement on a production contract for the sixth lot of engines for the F-35 aircraft.

The LRIP 6 contract covers 38 engines, including program management, engineering support, sustainment and spare parts, according to a joint statement.

"Cost details will be released when the LRIP 6 contract is finalized; however, in general, the unit prices for the 32 common configuration engines which are used to power both the [Air Force's] conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) aircraft and the aircraft-carrier variant (CV) aircraft reduced in LRIP 6 by roughly 2.5 percent compared to the previous LRIP 5 contract for 35 engines," the statement reads.

The unit prices for the six short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing aircraft engines reduced in LRIP 6 by roughly 9.6 percent compared to three STOVL engines in the LRIP 5 contract.

"This agreement represents a fair deal for government and Pratt & Whitney," Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer, said in the statement. "Driving down cost is critical to the success of this program and we are working together -- in each successive contract -- to lower costs for the propulsion system."

The LRIP 6 contract includes 36 install engines and two conventional takeoff and landing whole spare engines. The contract will also include the first propulsion systems for Italy and Australia, the statement reads.