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Pratt & Whitney JSF119 Engine Performs Flawlessly During First Flight of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., October 24, 2000—Pratt & Whitney's JSF119 engine met or exceeded all performance requirements today powering the first flight of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator. The airplane took off at 9:06 a.m. Pacific time from the Palmdale, Calif., test site and landed at Edwards Air Force Base.

"All members of the Lockheed Martin JSF Team and the Pratt & Whitney employees who helped make this event happen can be very proud of this tremendous success," said Steve Finger, President, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. "This is the second version of our JSF119 engine to take flight. Either version of the JSF119 will provide affordable and dependable propulsion for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter selected to enter into Engineering and Manufacturing Development."

Bob Cea, Vice President, JSF119 Programs, stated, "in keeping with the fine tradition of F119 flawless flights, Lockheed Martin JSF119-611 performed exceptionally well in first flight. We are proud to have contributed to this significant milestone and are confident that we will continue to have successful flights on both programs."

"An awesome aircraft," was the way Lockheed Martin X-35 test pilot Tom Morgenfeld described his first flight. "The performance, sheer power and responsiveness were exactly what our engineers predicted."

Pratt & Whitney has developed, built and tested six JSF119 engines for the Lockheed Martin JSF team since the beginning of the JSF Concept Demonstrator phase in 1996. The JSF119 is a derivative of the highly successful F119 engine that powers the U.S. Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor.

The X-35A is one of two concept demonstrators Lockheed Martin is building to demonstrate the design concepts to be used for the operational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It will demonstrate conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) for the U. S. Air Force and then will be converted to the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) configuration to demonstrate those capabilities for the U. S. Marine Corps and the United Kingdom Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. The X-35B, expected to fly later this year, will demonstrate the carrier version (CV) capabilities for the U. S. Navy.

Pratt & Whitney also powers the competing Boeing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator aircraft.

Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines.

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