Pratt & Whitney's (P&W) F119-PW-100 engine (powering the F/A-22 Raptor fighter aircraft) has received Support System Release (SSR) approval from the U.S. Air Force, signifying that the engine's field support program is ready for operational service.

The F119's field support and training system includes training programs for maintenance technicians, processes for deploying spare engines and parts, engineering and logistics support programs, tools, and technical order data. To achieve SSR, all elements of the F119's support system underwent extensive validation and verification testing over a five-year period. The system successfully demonstrated its capability in meeting all requirements of an operational fighter engine program.

"We are pleased to grant SSR approval to the F119's field support system," said Brig. Gen. (Sel) Thomas J. Owen, F/A-22 System Program Office Director, U.S. Air Force. "The team of Pratt & Whitney and the U.S. Air Force has worked well together to assure that both the engine and its support system are ready to transition to an operational environment."

Engine Shines as Airframe Program Faces Hurdles

"The F119 engine received ISR, initial service release, from the Air Force earlier in the year, signifying that the engine is ready for operational service. Now with the achievement of SSR certification, the total engine program is truly ready for initial field operation," said Bennett Croswell, P&W Director of F119 engine programs. "We now have F119 initial operational support capability at Nellis Air Force Base, the first operational base for the F/A-22. The people and the systems are on base, trained, and ready to support the U.S. Air Force and the F/A-22 team as this superb aircraft advances to operational service."

The F119's field support program represents the first time that a new production fighter engine and its support system have been developed at the same time. This "integrated product development" concept has resulted in what is projected to be the easiest and lowest-cost fighter engine to maintain in the field.

"A team of Pratt & Whitney engineers and U.S. Air Force maintenance professionals worked through many issues that plague maintainers in the field, and the results are often simple yet dramatic," Croswell said. "For example, we judiciously sought common bolt and nut sizes to attach external components to the engine, which has resulted in the need for just six hand tools to remove any external component on the F119. Also, all external components are placed just one layer deep on the engine, so you don't have to remove one component to get at another one. In all, it takes on average just 20 minutes to remove and replace any external component on the F119, which is a significant improvement over legacy engines." An evolution of the F119, the F135, will power the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

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