First GE Rolls-Royce F136 fighter engine begins ground testing
22 July 2004
FARNBOROUGH July 22, 2004 The first GE Rolls-Royce F136 development engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme has successfully begun ground testing on July 22 at GE's facility in Evendale, Ohio, USA. The F136 engine, in the Conventional Take-off/Landing (CTOL) configuration, was fired up for the first time to perform an idle leak check, and began its initial mechanical and controls evaluation.
"A great effort from a terrific team brought this engine programme to test one day ahead of schedule," said Bob Griswold of GE Transportation and President of the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team LLC. "We're looking forward to delivering a world-class propulsion system that is well-matched to the needs of the JSF F-35 aircraft." Tom Hartmann, Senior Vice President and head of the Rolls-Royce portion of the program stated "We are tremendously excited to have gotten off to this kind of start in the test program. It positions the F136 team perfectly for a successful entry into SDD."
This engine is expected to run through December 2004, and will be conducting both sea-level static and simulated high-altitude, high-Mach tests. In early 2005, the same engine is planned to run endurance testing.
A second development engine in the Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) configuration will be assembled later this year. Testing will begin in early 2005 at GE's outdoor test center near Peebles, Ohio, USA.
The first engine to test marks the most significant milestone in the highly successful Phase III pre-System Development and Demonstration (SDD) for the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team, which comprises: GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines in Evendale, Ohio, USA; Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England, and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. This development work is being funded by the four-year Phase III pre-SDD contract, which runs through 2005. Proposal work by the Fighter Engine Team is underway in anticipation of a new multi-year SDD contract award in 2005 from the JSF programme office.
Based on the current schedule, the Fighter Engine team expects to run the first full SDD engine in 2007, with delivery of the first production F136 engine in 2011.
The F136 will be fully interchangeable and affordable to meet the requirements of all the aircraft variants. Engines will be tested for all JSF variants during Phase III: STOVL for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.K. Royal Navy, CTOL for the U.S. Air Force, and the Carrier Variant (CV) for the U.S. Navy.
GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, with responsibility for 60 percent of the programme, is developing the core compressor and coupled high pressure/low pressure turbine system components, controls and accessories, and the augmentor. Rolls-Royce, with 40 percent of the programme, is responsible for the front fan, combustor, stages 2 and 3 of the low-pressure turbine, and gearboxes. International partner countries are also contributing to the F136 through involvement in engine development and component manufacturing.
