Pratt & Whitney officials say they will be delivering two F135-PW-100 Joint Strike Fighter engines to the Arnold Engineering Development Center, Arnold AFB, Tenn., late in October to start conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) qualification tests that will run through January. Thomas Johnson, chief engineer for P&W’s F135 program said the next portion of the development will involve flight clearing for the A-1 first aircraft—scheduled for flight in August 2006.
The Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter is Air Combat Command’s top priority, because without it, the Air Force can’t provide the control of the air the whole military depends on to operate, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said. He also named a replacement for the E-3 AWACS, new…