The U.S. Air Force and Pratt & Whitney have completed a $21-million retrofit of F119 engines for all fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighters

The US Air Force and Pratt & Whitney have upgraded the F119 engines for the fifth-generation F119 aircraft. The powerplant retrofit for the entire fighter fleet is due to a blade problem.

Here's What We Know

The U.S. Air Force and Pratt & Whitney had to upgrade all engines due to seven accidents caused by blade fatigue, which caused nearly $23 million in damage. The powerplant retrofit cost $21 million.

After determining the cause of the malfunction, the U.S. Air Force and Pratt & Whitney agreed on a plan of action. The malfunction was eliminated in record time. During the modernisation, the Pentagon did not stop the flights of fighter jets. This was announced by Julie Ireland, director of the Pratt F119 engine programme.

Despite the record lines for the upgrade, we still don't know when exactly it was completed. A Pratt & Whitney spokesperson says all work was completed ahead of schedule in December 2022. But Brian Brackens, a spokesman for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre in the US Air Force, says they were done by May 2023.

The F119 is a high-temperature, twin-circuit engine with afterburner and controlled thrust vectoring. It is based on the F100 and later formed the basis of the F135 for the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter.

The propulsion system is capable of generating thrust of almost 103 kN. At the same time, the thrust at afterburner is more than 155 kN. The F119 engine enables the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor to reach speeds of more than 2,400 km/h (M=2.25).

Source: Breaking Defence