Washington: The US Air Force greatly expanded funding for the prototype engine for the service’s planned sixth-generation fighter. General Electric of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pratt & Whitney Engines of East Hartford, Connecticut, each received modifications to their initial Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion, or NGAP, contracts that bring the maximum amount for the prototype phase up to $3.5 billion apiece. That is more than three times higher than the $975 million ceiling on the original contracts awarded in 2022.
NGAP is expected to be the propulsion system for the planned Next Generation Air Dominance fighter. GE and Pratt are designing so-called “adaptive” engines, which shift to the most efficient thrust configuration for whatever situation a jet is in, to power NGAD.
The Pentagon seriously considered upgrading the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with adaptive engines. But their cost and limited ability to fit all models of the F-35 led the Pentagon to instead upgrade the F-35′s current engines.
The progress made on adaptive engines is now feeding into the NGAP program. And even as the Air Force reconsiders its approach to NGAD and air dominance, the contract modification signals the service wants to keep work moving on the new engines.
The Pentagon said this contract award will help deliver “a state-of-the-art propulsion system with a flexible architecture that can be tailored for future combat aircraft operating across various mission threads, and digitally transforming the propulsion industrial base.” The Pentagon expects the work to be done by July 2032.
Chris Calio, president and chief executive of Pratt’s parent company, RTX, said the additional funding will help the company continue driving down the risks on its adaptive engine, dubbed “XA103.”
