Pratt & Whitney says it is “cleaning up loose-ends” with the U.S. Joint Program Office (JPO) for a Low Rate of Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 10 production contract to supply F135 engines for the F-35 fighter and expects the agreement to be sealed “relatively soon.” According to Mark Buongiorno, the U.S. manufacturer’s F135 program vice president, the latest contract will reflect progress it claims to have made in reducing the cost of producting the powerplant.

“The latest contracts are not radically different, but they do take account of the war on cost,” Buongiorno told AIN in a June 7 interview. “We have continued to drive down costs, reducing them by around half so far. [The price] for Lot 10 will be 3.4 percent lower than it was for Lot 8.” From the time it built the sixth flight-test powerplant to now, the company claims to have reduced the cost of building the F135 turbofan by 55 percent.

The U.S. engine maker is leveraging the JPO’s incentive program to put in place its own incentive-based cost reduction strategy to induce suppliers to drive down their own costs. Buongiorno explained that there are several aspects to the cost reduction efforts, including new materials and manufacturing processes to reduce scrap and reworking. For example, a previously hollow rotor blade has been redesigned to a simpler solid configuration.

“We’re now taking advantage of greater volume and automation,” said Buongiorno. “The vast majority of parts are competitively bid and we’ve reached long-term agreements with 65 percent of the supply base. We will have more multiple sources for most critical components and more international sources too.” For instance, it is pushing for more competitive pricing from suppliers by bundling work volumes for both military and commercial engine programs.

The latest Selected Acquisition Report from the U.S. Department of Defense published in December 2015 confirmed the downward trend for engine prices in LRIP Lots 9 and 10 and said that the F135 is now meeting the Pratt & Whitney’s War on Cost commitments. “However, recurring manufacturing quality issues continue to hamper consistent engine deliveries,” said the report. “Recent quality escapes on turbine blades and electronic control systems resulted in maintenance activity to remove suspect hardware from the operational fleet. Pratt & Whitney has taken action to improve quality surveillance within their manufacturing processes and program office manufacturing quality experts have engaged to ensure quality improvements are in place to meet production ramp requirements.”

Meanwhile, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued on March 23 indicated that the reliability of the F135 engines on around 180 F35s in service improved significantly in 2015, but, “was still not performing at expected levels.” Officials gave Pratt & Whitney credit for various design changes that improved reliability but concluded that for the powerplant of the F-35A and F-35B aircraft, “are still at about 55 percent and 63 percent, respectively, of where the program expected them to be at this point.”

According to Pratt & Whitney, the GAO’s conclusions represented a snapshot of engine reliability that focused mainly on line-replaceable units rather than the core engine. It also argued that the report did not take account of the improved performance of more recently delivered engines.

“We have made some great strides since the early days of the program and some of the early problems are under control today,” said Buongiorno. “Fleet availability today is fantastic at better than 95 percent. We’re on track to meet mature specification requirements.”

Buongiorno pointed to sea trials conducted by both the U.S. Marines and Navy, which he said had been completely free of unscheduled maintenance. “They are very positive about [engine] power and responsiveness,” he commented. “From a maintenance standpoint, it is still a small program with around 180 aircraft, and for the reliability rate to be in the mid 90s [percent] is very good.”

The F35 program’s next major milestone is the anticipated initial operating capability (IOC) in December 2016 for the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A fighters. Also on the agenda is production activity for several F-35 international partners, including Israel, which is due to get its first aircraft in December.

Meanwhile, production of engines for Italy’s F-35s has been in progress since the end of 2015. In April, Pratt & Whitney signed a 10-year long-term agreement with four Italian partners—Aeria, APR, Mepit and NCM—to make F135 components. By 2020, more than 650 F-35s are due to be in service with 10 partner nations. Pratt & Whitney’s main F135 assembly lines are in Middletown, Connecticut, and West Palm Beach, Florida.