Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, received a $2.8 billion undefinitized contract action for production of Lot 18 F135 engines, which power all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II fighter.

The contract funds conventional take-off and landing, carrier variant, and short take-off and vertical landing engines for U.S. and international customers. It also covers spare engines, modules, tooling, engineering, production support and programme management.

“The combat-proven F135 engine delivers the power, safety, reliability and low-observability to ensure operators can accomplish their most critical missions. The F135 is ultimately an investment in mission assurance, providing the warfighters of today and tomorrow the technological edge to fight and win,” says Christopher K. Johnson, Pratt & Whitney’s vice president for the F135 programme. “This contract will enable our team to continue providing this critical capability to help the U.S. and its allies maintain air superiority for decades to come.”

The programme sustains more than 67,000 U.S. jobs, involving 240 suppliers and contributing $9.1 billion to the national economy in 2024. Pratt & Whitney has delivered over 1,300 production engines to a global enterprise involving 20 allied nations.