EVENDALE, Ohio - The JSF-F120 Engine Team is fully involved in full-scale engine design and development work in its ongoing program efforts now on contract for the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter Program.

The JSF-F120 team consists of GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Rolls-Royce (R-R) in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in Bristol, England. The design and development work now under way will lead to full engine testing in 2004.

During 2000, the engine's three-stage fan, designed by R-R, successfully operated at full speed and pressure ratio while meeting or exceeding its performance targets. In addition, the engine's core, designed by GE and R-R, accumulated more than 75 hours of successful testing, achieving all of the performance objectives. Both tests were conducted at the R-R facilities in Indianapolis.

The core engine testing was the centerpiece of the program's four-year Phase II, awarded in 1996, which also involved the Critical Design Review and several component rig tests. Phase III, a $460 million contract which runs through 2005, will involve component and subsystem testing, leading to full JSF-F120 engine testing in 2004.

In Phase III, JSF-F120 engines will be tested for the various JSF variants: Short Take-Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) for the U.S. Marine Corps and U.K. Royal Navy, Conventional Take-Off/Landing (CTOL) for the U.S. Air Force, and the Carrier Variant (CV) for the U.S. Navy.

From the outset, the JSF-F120 engine has been designed specifically for the JSF production aircraft. The synergistic strength of the two leading engine companies ensures that the JSF-F120 is a low-risk entry in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (E&MD) phase, resulting in a production engine that will meet JSF goals for affordability, supportability, survivability and performance.

For the JSF-F120, GE is developing advanced core-compressor and turbine-system components. GE and R-R are jointly developing an integrated high-pressure/low-pressure counterrotating turbine design, while R-R is responsible for the combustor/diffuser system, gearboxes, and an advanced high-pressure-ratio, long-chord, hollow, titanium blisk fan. The JSF-F120 incorporates advanced technology and processes from the highly successful IHPTET (Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology) programs.