Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of 62nd Airlift Wing personnel at Joint Base Lewis-McChord loading an Altec high-reach crane onto a C-17 for the replacement of a pitch trim actuator in the tail of another C-17.
The Air Force plans to award a 10-year firm fixed price contract at the end of fiscal 2027 to RTX‘s Pratt & Whitney for the restoration of the company’s F117 engines for the service’s 222 C-17 transports that Boeing delivered between 1993 and 2013.
F117 overhaul and repair under the Engine Performance Restoration contract “will require depot overhaul and field repair services for the F117 propulsion system to ensure a serviceable, ready-to-install engine to meet the required war readiness engines and serviceable propulsion system levels,” according to a Nov. 21 business notice. “Modules will be broken out and planned and programmed each year based upon engine build requirements. LLPs [life-limited parts] will be separately priced and ordered based upon need. Engine Build Unit, which is comprised of Quick Engine Change kits and modules in the power section, will be the line of tear down inspect, disposition build and test of the F117 engine. The F117 Speedline will be set up for quick repair of stub time engines that require off wing maintenance for return to service.”
Stub time engines have LLPs nearing the end of their service lives.
A key part of the coming F117 Engine Performance Restoration contract “is comprehensive sustaining engineering, covering both recurring and nonrecurring work across multiple disciplines,” according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s propulsion directorate at Tinker AFB, Okla. “This includes design and maintenance engineering, systems analysis, flight safety assessments, accident investigations, material evaluations, field diagnostics, and 24/7 emergency response— ensuring the engine’s safety, reliability, and readiness.”
In 2017, Pratt & Whitney received a more than $2.7 billion contract for F117 sustainment.
More than a decade ago, the Air Force said that its C-17s would last until 2040, but now the service projects that some will keep flying until 2075.
“Uninterrupted inter-theater airlift capacity is paramount for global operations during fleet recapitalization,” according to a November letter from Air Force Brig. Gen. David Fazenbaker, Air Mobility Command’s director of strategy, plans, requirements, and programs. “Current recapitalization projections require C-5M viability until 2045 and C-17A viability through 2075.”
Lockheed Martin built the Air Force’s 50 C-5M Galaxy transports.
As the Air Force develops systems to operate from austere locations and counter adversary attempts to disrupt U.S. military supply chains, the service has sought industry insights on the future Next Generation Airlift (NGAL) platform to replace the service’s C-17s and C-5s.
“With an accelerated NGAL Analysis of Alternatives in FY27 and an uninterrupted acquisition process with consistent funding, the first NGAL aircraft could be produced as early as FY38,” according to Fazenbaker’s letter. “It is estimated the NGAL program will reach Initial Operational Capability in FY41. One NGAL aircraft will replace one C-5M aircraft until the entire C-5M fleet is retired. Then, the C-17A fleet will be replaced by NGAL at a one-for-one swap.”
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.