Pratt & Whitney on Monday said that Leidos [LDOS] has awarded the company a contract to supply TJ150 engines for the Black Arrow small cruise missile being developed to provide the Defense Department with an affordable strike weapons capability.
The value of the award was not disclosed.
The high-performance, single rotor, one-stage turbojet engine was used in a Black Arrow flight test last November from a U.S. Special Operations Command AC-130J aircraft (Defense Daily, March 31). The 150-pound thrust TJ150 is used to power several missiles, including the RTX [RTX]-built Miniature Air Launched Decoy. More than 2,700 of the engines have been delivered to customers globally.
“The ability to rely on a proven propulsion system like the TJ150 frees up our team to focus on optimizing the missile to meet the needs of the strike weapons community,” Mark Miller, senior vice president for missile and aviation systems at Leidos, said in a statement.
The companies begin integration studies in 2023 and the contract, which began in April 2025, runs through the first quarter of 2026. The award has an option for additional engines.
“Production capacity is in place today, ahead of demand, which strongly positions the TJ150 engine for a range of high-rate production scenarios,” Chris Hugill, executive director of Pratt & Whitney GATORWORKS, said in a statement.
Pratt is an operating segment of RTX.
USSOCOM last December awarded Leidos a contract to continue expanding the flight envelop and utility of Black Arrow through 2025.
Moog, Inc. [MOG.A] is providing the control actuation system for Black Arrow (Defense Daily, May 12).