Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter has amassed more than 6,000 hours of testing system development and demonstration ground testing, in addition to the more than 3,600 hours logged during the concept demonstration phase of the F-35, according to a company press release. P&W, which recently supervised a full after-burner test, says the engine is ready for F-35 taxi testing slated for later this fall.
With a repeat of a hypersonic missile test coming up in the summer and the potential to speed up production of the B-21 Raider, the Air Force is “committed” to putting hypersonic missiles on its long-range bombers, said Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, the top USAF acquisition official. Air Force…