Dutch dealt JSF engine deal

recently awarded contracts to DutchAero, the

and Philips joint venture company based in

, for the manufacture of components for the F136 engine which is being developed in partnership with General Electric to power the Joint Strike Fighter.

The GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team (FET) comprises GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Rolls-Royce plc in Bristol, England; and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

DutchAero will be responsible for producing a 1.1m diameter component known as a bladed disk or “blisk”. This first stage compressor blisk will be machined from a large solid titanium forging and is one of the largest ever used in a military engine. The blisk will be fitted into an F136 engine, which is due to run next year as part of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program.

Working in close collaboration with DutchAero, Nedtech Engineering of Uithoorn has already been contracted for detailed design work on a number of components. One significant example of this cooperation is the fan case, a major component that will be designed with Nedtech involvement and manufactured by DutchAero.

GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, with responsibility for 60 percent of the F136 program, is developing the core compressor and coupled high-pressure/low-pressure turbine system components, controls and accessories, and the augmentor. Rolls-Royce, with 40 percent of the F136 program, is responsible for the front fan, combustor, stages 2 and 3 of the low-pressure turbine, and gearboxes. International participant countries are also contributing to the F136 through involvement in engine development and component manufacturing.