By Marina Malenic
Testing of the F136 alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) was halted by its manufacturers this week after a routine inspection revealed “dings and nicks” on the turbine blades, according to industry and government officials.
“This weekend, GE/RR were about 75 percent through a test engine phase in the test cell in Cincinnati that included extended operation at maximum power, normal operation and controlled shutdown,” General Electric spokesman Rick Kennedy said. General Electric [GE] is developing the engine along with its partner Rolls- Royce.
The companies performed a borescope inspection and “found dings and nicks” on the turbine blades, according to Kennedy.
“At the time of the shutdown, the engine was running normally with no signs of issues,” he added.
The companies decided a more thorough inspection was necessary. Kennedy said there was no sign of damage in the compressor or fan and that this incident would not require any redesign of the engine.
“The GE/RR issue wasn’t an engine failure, but we’ve got to make sure we know exactly what happened,” he said.
The JSF program office, meanwhile, said that further inspections “revealed Stages 1, 2, & 3 of the Low Pressure Turbine (LPT) rotor also sustained impact damage on the leading edges of several blades. During borescope of the Combustor/Diffuser/Nozzle (CDN) assembly, 2 combustor diffuser inner panels were found with distress and missing material.”
A detailed inspection of the CDN assembly will be performed, according to a statement released by the program office. Initial results are expected today, the statement said.
Kennedy said that the program office’s statement “is likely correct–it appears a static part in the combustor went free, given the fan and compressor were fine.”
Defense authorizers in Congress yesterday kept the F136 effort alive, setting aside $560 million for the program for the current fiscal year.
The White House, however, has singled out the plan to build a second engine for the aircraft as an example of wasteful spending. Administration officials have signaled that continued funding of the program could spur a veto if the legislation “seriously disrupts” the program as a whole by diverting money from overall procurement of the airplanes.