Pratt & Whitney's F-15 and F-16 re-engining programmes for the US Air National Guard (ANG) are under way, the engine maker has announced at Asian Aerospace.
Just a week ago, the ANG took delivery of its first Northrop Grumman F-15 fighter, re-engined with modern P&W F100-PW-220E engines. The aircraft are F-15A/B models, originally built in the 1970s and still powered by P&W F100-PW-100 engines.
The -220E retrofit programe was initiated by the US Air Force in 1997 to provide more power and to bring the earlier F-15s up to current combat capability.
The upgrade programme is commonly referred to as a -220 equivalent kit, or 'E-kit' upgrade, with the original engine being brought up to the thrust and reliability standards of a production F100-PW-220 engine.
In the upgrade process, the old engines are removed, overhauled and updated using upgraded parts and components supplied by P&W - all for less than half the cost of a new engine.
Related
In a related programme, a group of ANG Lockheed Martin F-16s has been re-engined with new P&W F100-PW-229 engines.
The aircraft are Block 42 aircraft, built from 1988 onwards and powered by P&W F100-PW-220 engines.
These aircraft recently achieved a year of flying in which the engines performed flawlessly - a condition known as Code 1.
Source: Flight Daily News
