JPO awards Pratt multibillion-dollar F-35 engine contract as lot 15-17 negotiations continue

The F-35 Joint Program Office has awarded Pratt & Whitney an undefinitized contract action worth up to $4.3 billion for production of lot 15 and 16 F-35 engines and long-lead parts, according to an award announcement posted by the Defense Department Tuesday.

The F135 engine manufactured by Pratt supports the A, B and C variants of the F-35. The UCA sets a $4.3 billion ceiling to produce a total of 178 propulsion systems: 108 for the Air Force, 41 for the Marine Corps and 29 for the Navy.

After agreeing in principle to the terms of a formal contract in April 2022, the UCA will start production as Pratt & Whitney and the JPO finalize an engine contract for lots 15-17, according to a company spokesman.

The agreement Pratt & Whitney and the JPO reached covers base production and option quantities for a maximum of 518 engines and equivalents, with a contract value of approximately $8 billion if all options are exercised, the spokesman added.

Separately, the JPO and F-35 airframe manufacturer Lockheed Martin have been working to reach agreement on their own contract surrounding lots 15-17 aircraft, though both sides have struggled to agree on a deal.

A Lockheed executive said in January that finding a consensus on the cost baseline was complicated by inflationary and pandemic effects, an impasse that then-F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen Eric Fick previously hoped would be resolved this spring amid what he characterized as a “tough negotiation.”

Engine deliveries will begin later this year and continue to the end of 2025, according to Pratt & Whitney.