Pratt And Whitney To Re-evaluate F-35 Fighter Jet Engine Fix

Pratt & Whitney is ramping up the retrofits to operational F135 engines with a fix to the problem that led to a catastrophic engine fire last year in the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter.

The company stated in its press release Monday that it is aiming to modify the entire fleet by the first quarter of 2016.

Pratt & Whitney Military Engines President Bennett Croswell said, "The engine maker also aims to define a long-term solution by the middle of this summer."

“We have several candidates, including the current fix, and we’ll work with the F-35 Joint Program Office)to identify what the long-term fix will be.” Croswell added.

The interim fix—called “pre-trenching”—deepens the gap in the polyimide foam lining between the tips of stators and the knife-edge seal forward of the third-stage integrally bladed rotor (IBR).

The pre-trenching deepens the gap, enabling the spinning seal to pass through the end of the stators without creating friction.

The company is also evaluating a couple of long-term solutions which include adding a hard coating to the seal plate to resist microcracks that occurred as a result of the frictional heating, or a combination of trenching along with a coating, Croswell.