United Technologies’ F-35 Engines Chronically Late, Pentagon Says
- Contract agency questions if contractor is ready for a surge
- A ‘poor delivery performance’ finding remains in effect
This article is for subscribers only.
United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney unit is chronically late delivering engines for the Pentagon’s costliest program, the F-35, raising questions about whether the company is ready for a surge to full-rate production scheduled for next year.
Pratt remains under a previously unreported “Corrective Action Request” from the Defense Contract Management Agency that cites “poor delivery performance” on its current batch of engines for the fighter jet, including for the most complicated version used by the Marine Corps and the U.K. for vertical takeoffs and landings.