This Week in Engineering explores the latest in Engineering from academia, government and industry.
Episode Summary:
The US Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force have begun the process of procuring advanced technology replacement engines for the Pentagon’s large fleet of F-35 multirole combat aircraft. While early in the development process, the Adaptive Engine Transition Program hopes to source new turbofan engine designs that offer the best of both worlds: high efficiency at lower speeds as well as efficient thrust for supersonic flight. New engine configurations will be required, and at this point, the DoD request for information hopes to establish which companies have the capability to deliver advanced engines. It’s an opportunity for many smaller businesses in the aviation space.
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Transcript of this week’s show:
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Are you in the gas turbine business? Looking to pick up a contract? Well, the U.S. Air Force is looking for you, or more specifically, is looking for US industry capability for a very big program: the F-35 adaptive engine replacement program or FAER. The F-35 program is the most expensive military procurement program in history, with airplanes entering service in 2015 with 760 aircraft built to date. The program is huge, encompassing A, B and C models for the USAF, the US Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy with an overall planned aircraft purchase of 2456 aircraft through 2044. The aircraft are expected to operate until the year 2070.
With a projected service life of over half a century, it’s natural that the Pentagon would plan for considerable upgrades, including the engine, and the FAER is starting early, with a Request for Information, a precursor to a RFP, which seeks to catalogue capability statements from potential sources, including small businesses, including women-owned, veteran and service disabled and economically disadvantaged women-owned operations.
The Pentagon is ultimately seeking a fully integrated propulsion system vendor to ship replacement ready powerplants for the three services, and a request for information is a way for smaller businesses to get their foot in the door into what will be a massive and long-running procurement program.
The current F-35 engine is the Pratt & Whitney F135 low bypass ratio turbofan with afterburner, with a rated thrust of 43,000 pounds. This engine, derived from the F119 used in the F-22, uses a larger fan and is not designed for super cruise, instead using an afterburner with heat masking materials for supersonic dash capability.
The F-35 B variant uses a modified engine that includes a Rolls-Royce developed lift fan system to give the B version short takeoff and vertical landing capability. An alternative engine was proposed, the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136, but that program was cancelled in December 2011 due to lack of funding.
The current program, which was launched in 2016, seeks a variable cycle design, with the goal of eliminating the classic problem of high-performance military jet engines: the need to optimize thrust and efficiency over a wide range of air speeds, including supersonic flight. Major candidate technologies include tandem compressor fans with the ability to restrict bypass flow, or a mixed flow turbofan with ejector, a low bypass ratio engine with an extended exhaust that ingests additional air to reduce the mean jet velocity of the exhaust for takeoff and landing.
As a multirole aircraft, the F 35 is expected to perform air over a range of speeds from effectively zero in hover, to approximately Mach 1.6, a tall order for any airplane, let alone one which must stay leading edge for 50 years. If you are Tier 1 or Tier 2 supplier to the jet engine industry, or would like to be one, this could be the score of a lifetime. We will keep you informed as the program develops.
