Engines
F-35 Engine and Power System Upgrades On Course
The U.S. has decided to upgrade the existing F-35 engine to meet future needs rather than buy a new-generation powerplant.
Collins Aerospace EPACS
A Collins Aerospace graphic depicts the EPACS unit under development for potential F-35 application.

Raytheon Technologies (RTX) company Pratt & Whitney is now working on an engine core upgrade (ECU) for the F35 fighter's F135 powerplant. The U.S. Department of Defense chose the upgrade in March instead of developing a new adaptive cycle engine. That option would have cost a lot more, according to Pratt & Whitney, and would have required considerable adaptation to meet the needs of the three versions of the F-35.

The current engine iteration is performing well, but it is being increasingly taxed to provide power and cooling for onboard systems. For many years it has operated with roughly twice the amount of bleed air being drawn off than required in the original specification.

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