Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine (exclusively powering Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II) exceeded 20,000 total engine hours while powering the fleet of F-35 flight test aircraft, including 17,700 ground test hours and 2,500 flight test hours. This marks yet another milestone for Pratt & Whitney and its partners.

“The F135-powered F-35 had an extraordinary 2011 in flight test, completing nearly 1,000 flights and powering the successful STOVL shipboard trials, and it is on track for an even better 2012,” said Bennett Croswell, President of Military Engines, Pratt & Whitney.

“The combination of 20,000 hours of flight and ground testing demonstrates the maturity and dependable performance of our F135 engine, providing single engine safety to our customers in the U.S. and around the world.”

The F-35 includes three variants to meet the unique needs of the U.S. armed forces as well as the international participants in the program – the Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL), the Carrier Variant (CV) and the Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL). To date, the F135 propulsion system has completed more than 1,600 flight tests producing more than 2,500 flight hours and nearly 300 vertical landings. The successes of the F135 engine program validate the reliability, safety and performance of the engine.

“We are meeting our affordability targets and our engines are a stable, production configuration ready to power all three F-35 variants through testing, training and operational introduction as the program progresses,” Croswell concluded.

Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. company.