Office tests capabilities of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine

  • Published
  • By Brian Brackens
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio, --  The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Engine Component Improvement Program (CIP) recently began tests on the F135 -- the propulsion system for the F-35 Fighter -- at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee.

The engine, which is uninstalled from the plane but running like it would if it were in an aircraft, will go through a variety of simulated F-35 Fighter missions in what is known as an Accelerated Mission Test.  

The tests, which are run 24 hours a day, five days a week, will determine the estimated lifespan of the engine and its components and are expected to end in March 2015.

"Your car manufacturer has a robot in a factory somewhere that opens and closes car doors 50,000 times to make sure that it works," said Maj. James Rodriguez, deputy branch chief, Engine Component Improvement Program. "We're doing the same thing with the engine. We are running it thousands and thousands of times to make sure it will last as it was designed."  

Don Johnson, program manager, Engine Component Improvement Program, said one of the benefits of the test is that it's more efficient than flight testing.

"The Accelerated Mission Test allows us to replicate thousands of mission profiles in a shortened amount of time," he said. "In one day we can run 90 missions that would take a minimum of 45 days of real airplane time to complete."

Johnson also said that CIP enables engines to be safe and affordable over their lifetime.

"Our work validates that we can expect component A to last for x   number of hours" he said. "If we don't do that and the part fails, we lose an aircraft or pilot."

Rodriguez said that not only does CIP reduce risk by promoting confidence in Air Force engines, but the program is the only source of sustaining engineering for engines and saves the Air Force money.

"CIP projects generate a ten-to-one return on investment," he said. "If we spend $1 million on a fix, the Air Force can expect to receive $10 million reduction in future costs because we won't have to remove or replace parts as often in the future."